


Losing Control

by msmoakqueen



Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: Angry Sex, College AU, Enemies to Lovers, F/M, Hate Sex, Hate to Love, Smut
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-29
Updated: 2019-01-05
Packaged: 2019-07-20 06:11:39
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 33,122
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16131296
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/msmoakqueen/pseuds/msmoakqueen
Summary: There were two things in Felicity Smoak’s life that she was sure of: one of them was her desire of finishing her degree and being able to work in what she had always wanted, and the second was the hatred she felt towards Oliver Queen.





	1. Never Again

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello!  
> I'm very nervous about this story because I know it's a cliché but I wanted to do it anyway in my own way.  
> I've been working in this story for months due to English it's not my first language. I write first in Spanish and then my friend helps me to translate to English, it's a lot of work but I hope It worth it.  
> I wanted to thanks to my friend, Vivian, for her help with the translation and the ideas she has added to the fic. We are a good team.  
> Special thank you to my lovely beta, Elley, thank you for your patience and for being an excellent beta and a wonderful person.  
> I really hope you enjoy this short story. Any kind of comments are appreciated but don't be rude.  
> Ps, I apologize in advance for any kind of mistakes.

                                                                                         

 

There were two things in Felicity Smoak’s life that she was sure of: one of them was her desire of finishing her degree and being able to work in what she had always wanted, and the second was the hatred she felt towards Oliver Queen. She hated the way he talked, the careless way he reacted no matter the situation. He didn’t really care if his girlfriend of the week had caught him cheating on her and told all of his friends. He just didn’t mind what people thought of him. He didn’t mind not attending one of his classes due to the fact that he had a hangover after a party. Felicity simply hated the fact that he thought he could be with any girl he wanted. But what she hated, even more, was the fact that it was true. Every girl tried to get his attention. She wasn’t going to lie: Oliver was one of the hottest guys she had ever met, but that didn’t really matter. He was just one of those hot guys that you wouldn’t be able to have a 5-minutes conversation with because of how stupid they were.

Felicity would have loved to ignore him, after all, they didn’t attend the same university, but unfortunately for her, they both shared the same group of friends. She didn’t even remember the day her best friend, Iris West, started dating his best friend, Tommy Merlyn, but due to that time, they all started hanging out together: they would go partying, studying or just having a drink in the bar. Felicity was aware that Oliver felt the same way as her, so that made her hate him even more. However, no matter how hard they tried to be civil to each other whenever they were all together, sometimes they would start fighting because of the most stupid things (such as him playing around with the napkins of the bar they used to go and her not being able to stand it). She would always have something to say about his behavior, which irritated him (a lot). Oliver didn’t really have a specific reason to hate her. He just hated her because she hated him. That was his reason to try to find something to do that would irritate her. Well, that and the fact that, after his multiple attempts of flirting with her, she was the only girl who hadn’t fallen at his feet.

***

Felicity was sitting in front of her computer while trying to send her project before the start of her spring break. She worked really hard the whole semester, so the only thing left for her to do was rest and leave Boston behind for a few days. She didn’t hate Boston, she actually loved studying in the college she had always dreamed of (she was so excited when she got her acceptance letter, that her loud screams made her mom believed that she was being kidnapped. She also loved the friends she had there, but she just needed a break from the headaches Oliver Queen was giving her. The only plan she had for the break was going to Las Vegas to visit her mother. She didn’t have many things for her to do there (her friends were all in Boston), but her mother kept insisting for her to visit because she was missing her baby girl.

“Stop whatever you’re doing right now and listen to what I have to say!” Iris excitedly yelled while getting in her friend’s room without any warning. They got to know each other while looking for a place to live in Boston and, since that moment, they weren’t able to live one without the other. Iris had been a great support to Felicity and, even if she was a few years younger, Iris had always treated her like an adult. Most of the time, people were really surprised whenever they learned that Felicity was in her senior year of college when she was only 19, but she was used to people looking at her differently. It had always been like that.

“Please, tell me Tommy hasn’t proposed because I don’t think I am ready to handle something like that” Felicity said while still typing the last sentences of the project she had to send.

“No, idiot. It would scare me if, after just one year of dating, that was his best idea on how to celebrate our anniversary… which was a week ago, in case you have forgotten about it…” the blonde girl closed her eyes and shook her head while remembering the awkward moment she briefly lived when, at getting in their apartment, she found her friends almost naked and hooking up in their couch. Thankfully, she quickly closed the door and called their friend Caitlin to ask her if it was okay for her to spend the night in her place. “I am here to propose you something,” Iris said while sitting on the bed and taking one of the pillows with her.

Felicity finally sent the project and turned to look at her friend. “I feel that I am not going to like it”

“I know that you had plans on spending your spring break with your mother, but I am afraid that you will have to call her and tell her that you have plans with your friend”.

“Plans?” the MIT student asked, confused.

“Tommy’s father let him have their house at the lake for the break and I think it would be a good idea if we go all together…”

“And when you say ‘all together…’ you mean…?”

“Tommy, Caitlin, Ronnie, Sara, Nyssa… Alena can’t go because she has to work, and…” Iris paused for a second before saying the last and only name that Felicity didn’t want to hear. “And Oliver…” The blonde girl was about to open her mouth, but the roommate didn’t let her say anything before replying. “I know, I know it’s not your ideal plan to spend your spring break with him, but you are not just going with him. You are going with your friends”.

“No, absolutely not. And before you even try to convince me to say otherwise, I am telling you: I’m not going to spend a whole week with that idiot. Especially when I’ve already had to spend almost every day dealing with him”.

“You know that I love you, but I think your hate for Oliver is a bit irrational. You should use these days to try to get to know him a bit better” Felicity rolled her eyes, stating clearly she had zero intention on spending a single minute with Oliver or talking to him.

“Are you serious? irrational? I understand he is your boyfriend’s best friend, which it’s something that I still don’t understand because Tommy is a gentleman, but there is no reason for me to like Oliver. All that billionaire fratboy attitude he has really bothered me”.

“I just think that Oliver is a good guy, you just have to really know him,” told Iris.

“My answer throughout the whole year has been ‘no’ and that still hasn’t changed” Felicity retorted. “I am not interested in getting to know someone whose only goals in life are party, alcohol, and sex”.

“Okay, I’m going to stop trying to change your opinion. It’s just… I just want to spend my break with my best friend”.

“Iris, I don’t think it’s a good idea for me to go. I am not keen on spending my whole week surrounded by couples and an idiot”.

“Oh, C'mon! We are all friends and this is going to be our last spring break before graduation, so we should have a nice time together” Iris took her friend’s hand and gave her a look similar to those ones kids make for people to give them candy. “Please, please, please… It wouldn’t be the same if you don’t come with us! Please!”

“Iris…”

“Please, ple-”

“Okay, okay!” she caved. “ I’ll go if you stop doing that thing with your eyes”.

“I love you!” Iris said while jumping off the bed and hugging her friend. “I promise you won’t regret it!”

“Just a favor” the blonde started. Iris leaned back and waited for her to keep talking. “Can you tell Tommy to try to make his friend behave for once in his life?”

“Just if you promise to do the same thing” Felicity gave her a look, but let her finish. “I mean, we all know what happens when he does something you don’t like… Ignore him and we’ll all have a great time together!”

“Okay. It’s not going to be a problem on my side, but if he crosses the line, I’ll come back home and you won’t be able to say I didn’t warn you”.

“You won’t have to do it!” the journalist student smiled. “Do you want me to call your mother and tell her about you not going back home?”

“I think it would be for the best for me to call her. I don’t want her to believe that it’s not like I can’t talk to her or anything… Although she is going to believe that I’m not going home because I’m going to be with some guy and, no matter how much I’ll try to convince her otherwise, she’s going to make up her own story”.

***

That Saturday morning, Felicity woke up pretty aware that her good mood was probably going to be ruined by Oliver. However, she promised herself that she would enjoy her time with her friends and ignore Queen as much as possible.

She got up and checked the clock she had on her nightstand. 6.45am. She couldn’t even understand how everyone thought that starting their break by waking up early was a good idea. If she had to be up by that time, it was because of a class project or a study session, but she totally hated having to do so when she was on a break.

It looked like Iris didn’t hear her own alarm, as she was still sleeping when Felicity checked. The MIT student went to the kitchen to get herself a cup of coffee with a hint of vanilla. While she was drinking the beverage in her favorite cup, she looked at her travel list, making sure she wasn't forgetting anything. Suddenly,  her phone rang. It was her mother, Donna.

“Hi, mom. Why are you calling me this early?” Felicity said, then took a sip of her coffee and put a lock of hair behind her ear.

“Good morning to you too!” Donna excited voice came through the phone. “I just wanted to know if you have left already or if you have forgotten something!”

“Mom, it’s 7 am. Of course, we haven’t even thought of leaving yet!” That was the moment Iris decided to wake up and get out of her room. Felicity tried to point out something with her hands, but her roommate was not in the mood.

“Well, you’ve told me that you were leaving soon, so there was a chance for you to leave this early!” Felicity couldn’t help but roll her eyes for a second. “Just don’t forget anything!”

“I was checking on that when you called me, don’t worry”.

“Don’t forget to take some condoms with you! You never know what can happen!”

“MOM!” Her sudden yell made Iris look at her with a curious expression.

“What? You are going on a trip for your spring break. You are young. You are pretty. You need to have some fun, Felicity”.

“Mom, I am going to stop you right there. I don’t know what you have in mind right now, but I am definitely not going on this trip just because I want to get wasted or laid. So please, stop.”

“You know a mother just wants the best for her child. If you are not coming to visit, at least I want you to have some fun”.

“I know how to have fun without the need of consuming alcohol or having sex with a random guy, so please, can you just drop the topic?”

“Okay, okay, I am not going to say anything else. I am going to jog with the new neighbor. Oh, right! You don’t know her! We’ve got this new neighbor, her name is Sophie and she got divorced 4 years ago. Oh! And she has a son who has the same age as you. I’ll introduce you when you come to see me!” That was pretty common when it came to Donna: she would always try to set her up with her friend’s sons. She had been unsuccessful so far.

“I hope you have fun,” Felicity said ignoring her mother’s new attempt of getting her a date. “I won’t have a good signal while being away, so don’t call me. I’ll call you whenever I am able to. Love you”. She ended the call the moment when she got her mother’s goodbye and put the phone away. It looked like Iris had gone to her room and got ready because when Felicity turned around, she was already fully dressed and eating a croissant. “I still don’t understand how can you wake up later than me but be ready sooner”.

“It’s West family’s secret, I guess” the almost journalist joked, making her smile. “Is everything okay with your mother?”

“What?” The blonde girl looked confused for a second, before understanding what she meant. “Oh, yeah… It’s just… Can you believe she asked me if I was bringing condoms? What am I saying? Of course, you know, you met her”.

“Wow… Your mother just doesn’t want you to waste your time… But you should have told her that everyone going with you have a partner and the only single person is the one you hate the most”.

“I’d rather not mention that. I don’t want her to start making up stories between Oliver and me… Ew…” her disgusted face was priceless.

“Actually, that might not be a bad idea… Maybe that way you’ll both stop fighting” Iris giggled not even believing what she was saying.

“Hey! I thought you were on my side, not against me!”

“I’m sorry, I was just teasing you. As much as I’d love seeing you having a better relationship with Oliver, which looks like an impossible mission, he is not the best option as a boyfriend, much less my best friend’s boyfriend”.

“Thank you!” Felicity replied, thanking her for finally saying what she wanted to hear.

***

When it came to spending their spring break in Tommy’s lake cottage, Oliver wasn’t the most excited person in the world. However, that didn’t change the fact that it was a good excuse for him not to go back home and listen for the millionth time to his parents asking him to take life more seriously. It was a good excuse for him not to argue with his parents and make him end up in a random party with a random girl that he would forget the following day. 

When  Tommy first mentioned their plans to go to the cottage, Oliver wasn’t really sure about going. He had too many things on his mind. He wanted to be alone in order to clear his thoughts about what to do after college but, at the same time, he needed a distraction for him not to go crazy. He already had too many things on his plate, with his parents pressuring him to take over Queen Consolidated after graduation, which he wasn’t really keen on doing, or him not figuring out what to do with his life. After too much time thinking about all those things and Tommy insisting on going, he had accepted. He wasn’t really looking forward to spending some days surrounded by couples, but he thought that would be better than anything. He was offered to bring someone with him by Tommy, but he declined because he still needed to clear his mind (and didn’t want to bring any girl and give her hopes on having anything serious with him).

Having his parents choosing what he should do in life was not an easy way of living. Yeah, they were billionaires and everyone would assume that his life was anything but hard, but just a few people knew the pressure his parents put on him. Not only they would always mention his imminent job at the family company, but also compare him with Tommy. He didn’t feel any kind of resentment towards his friend, he was actually proud of him, being a part of Harvard’s pre-med school and all (it was actually him being in Boston what made him end up in that city). He just wanted to feel free from all those hard decisions he had to deal with. And if going to many parties during the week was the only way he had to do so, he wasn’t going to stop (even if his partying mate grew over those after meeting Iris).

When Oliver first arrived to Boston, he had a very deep conversation with his best friend. That was the moment he realized that, as much as he hated studying the degree his parents wanted, that was better than going from one college to another. He put some effort in his classes, just to pass his test and all, but he hadn’t stopped going to parties, even if those were taking places the day before an exam. Most of the times, when that situation would happen, he would simply flirt with some girl, have some fun along with her, leave without exchanging any word and go to his class to take his exam. No one was able to understand how he was able to deal with that kind of lifestyle, especially his parents.

“This might be your last chance to call some girl and invite her to come with us. You just have to send her the address and… Well, that would be it” Tommy said while putting his seatbelt on. Although they were going to the pre-med student’s cottage, Oliver was the one driving. They had to pick Iris and Felicity up (Caitlin and Ronnie, along with Sara and Nyssa, would meet them there).

“It’s okay. I don’t want any girl getting her hopes up just because I am inviting her to spend the break together. Do you have any idea of how many times she would call me afterward? Nah, I don’t need to deal with something like that right now”. He had never been the kind of guy to commit to anyone. And that was something he would always make clear to all the girls he would have something with. Oliver wasn’t looking to anything but a one night stand and, unfortunately for him, while some girls would accept that with any kind of drama, some girls would end up deceived when he told them it was over. It wasn’t like he even cared about those disillusioned girls, it was their own fault at the end, he was just not interested in a relationship. However, whenever he saw Tommy with Iris, he would start wondering if he would be able to have something like that with anyone. As much as he asked himself that same question, he would always come to the same answer: Oliver Queen was not boyfriend material. 

“Well… If you put it that way…” his friend replied.

 “It doesn’t matter, it’s going to be a great week anyway”.

Oliver drove for like 25 minutes before arriving to Iris and Felicity’s apartment. Having to deal with Felicity’s judgemental attitude towards him was not the best thing in the world, but he wanted to disconnect from his problems, so he would have to smile and ignore her in order to deal with that. Besides, he promised Tommy that he would try his best in order not to let her get into him for everyone to have a nice time.

After waiting for some minutes, the girls finally came down from their apartment. Iris greeted his boyfriend with glee when he got off the car to help them with their luggage. Felicity just waved him, but she was ignored due to him hugging his girlfriend like they had been apart for 3 months. looking at that scene, the MIT student decided to just get into the car, where she met with Oliver.

 “Smoak,” the driver said while giving her a small smile. When she opened the door without saying anything, their friends still outside getting all into each other, Oliver thought the best thing to do was at least greet her (even if that meant there was a chance for them to start arguing right at the beginning of their trip).

 "Queen” was the only thing coming out of Felicity’s mouth. She had also made the promise of trying to be civil to each other, so that was the only thing she could say that would not risk her losing her patience.

 Oliver honked twice in order to get Tommy and Iris’ attention. The couple just turned around and embarrassedly got inside their car for all of them to make their way to the cottage.

 ***

After many hours, they finally arrived to the lake cottage, “Merlyn Lake” as Tommy had named. By the time they were able to arrive, Ronnie and Caitlin had already made their way there.

“Ronnie! Caitlin!” the host said at the couple waiting outside the cottage. He was followed behind by Iris, Felicity, and Oliver, who had left the car after him.

 “Sorry to keep you waiting!” Iris said. “We got here as soon as we could.”

 “Yeah, but our driver got distracted with some chicks at a gas stop…” Felicity said in a non-whispering tone.

 “Hey! They just asked me to help them with the handle!” Oliver defended herself.

 “Yeah, of course…”

 “How can you-” the driver was about to add something else when their argument was stopped by Iris.

 “Guys, stop it” Iris interrupted them. “The good thing is that we have arrived”.

 “Yeah, and we just got here, so we didn’t wait for that long” Caitlin added trying to assist Iris. “It’s not a big deal”.

 “Why don’t we just get inside before these two dogs start barking at each other again,” Tommy said while taking the keys out of his pocket.

 “HEY!” both Oliver and Felicity said at the same time. They looked at each other for a second before looking away. They all went through the door after the host was able to unlock it.

 Except for Tommy and Oliver, everyone else was really surprised at how big the building was. Someone might have thought it wasn’t that big once inside the cottage but that was far from the truth. The first thing they saw when they got inside was the big entrance with some curved stairs that led to the upper floor. On the right, there were two big doors that hid a huge bedroom and a dining room with a table for at least 10 people. On the left, there were some other doors to another room, a restroom and the basement. Part of the living room could be seen on the same side too. The whole combination of stuff that they were looking wasn’t even half of it, and it already made it seem bigger on the inside.

After a few seconds of his friends looking around with their mouths opened, Tommy decided it was time for them to have a tour around the house and find out where they would all sleep.

 After the thought of getting lost in that house was coming to Felicity’s mind, the pre-med student informed her that her room was upstairs, the closest to the main stairs. Although Iris insisted on two of them sharing a room because she didn’t want her to be alone, the blonde girl refused. She didn’t want to get in the way of the couple. Everyone was already on their way to their own room when they heard the front door being opened.

 “HELLO EVERYONE!” Sara Lance shouted while Nyssa was getting in behind her. It was common for the two of them to be the last ones to arrive. They never gave them a specific reason, they all believed that… Well, that they were enjoying their alone time for way too long.

 “I almost thought that you weren’t coming at all!” Tommy said approaching them with his arms open. She hugged his longtime friend and continued talking. “Welcome to Merlyn Lake, where the fun is always guaranteed”.

 “Sorry for making you all wait. We were too busy making out on our way here” Nyssa said, making everyone turn with awkward looks in their faces. “What? You know I’m just teasing you… or not… you’ll never know”.

 “I actually think it’s okay if we don’t really know,” Felicity said while going to meet them from upstairs.

 “Smoaky, I’m so happy to see that you’ve come, I thought you wouldn’t!” Sara gave her a big hug. Sara, Oliver, and Tommy had been friends their entire lives. It was because of that same reason that her sister, Laurel, had been obsessed with Oliver for such a long time, even though he had never shown any interest. Not even for one night.

 “You should thank Iris then, I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for her,” the young girl said after breaking their hug.

 “Hey, West!” Sara shouted once more. The mentioned girl was approaching to greet them too. “Thanks for convincing this hot girl to come to join us!” It wasn’t unusual for her to make that kind of comments, but that didn’t stop Felicity from slightly blushing while rolling her eyes.

 “Oh, come on, Smoak… It wouldn’t have been the same without you” Tommy added.

 “I think you are exaggerating a little bit, but I appreciate it. Although I must say that I’ve only come here because of the lake and the promise of having a great time, so I hope I don’t regret my decision!” Felicity replied with a teasing tone but giving a brief look to a certain unpleasant guy to her.

 Oliver took advantage of the focus the blonde girl was receiving to grab his stuff and get into his room.

 ***

After a few hours of everyone getting comfortable in their own rooms and organizing everything inside their closets, they all went downstairs (except for Oliver and, Iris and Tommy, whose rooms were in the bottom floor). The whole ground floor was pretty big, as the living room and the kitchen were fully connected. And they also led to the back door where there was a huge balcony. Every single couple was sitting together, except for Oliver and Felicity who, due to their multiple disagreements, decided it would be for the best if they were in opposites sides of the room. They were all organizing the chores and all while having some wine and snacks.

“Oliver should be the one cooking tonight or… you know, every night” Iris, who adored his cooking, mentioned. Most of the time, he was the one preparing their food because, as surprising as it seemed, he was an excellent cook. Oliver gave her a look. “I don’t want to force you or anything, you can say no, but you know how much we love your cooking” The business student didn’t cease on his staring, so Iris quickly added. “It’s okay, I can cook or Tommy can! I mean, at the end of the day, his Bolognese pasta is the best in the world. No offense” At saying this, she stroke her boyfriend’s leg trying to avoid Oliver’s eyes. His boyfriend, unaware of the look’s exchange, just looked at Iris and smiled.

“I don’t really mind being the one cooking, to be honest,” Oliver said stopping his teasing. “It’s okay to me, I mean… That way you would all have some alone time with your partners so… I am okay with it”. He took a sip from his glass before standing up and rubbing his hands together, as if he was planning an evil scheme. “It’s going to be fun! And I am sorry, Thomas. Your Bolognese pasta will have to wait ‘cause Queen is taking control over the kitchen!”

Everyone laughed at his joke. Well, everyone except for Felicity. She decided to just roll her eyes and keep her mouth shut, in order not to start another of their famous arguments. But she wanted to make comments about the whole thing. About his lack of humbleness. About his need to always being the main focus of everything. About his remarks about everyone needing to spend their time together as a couple knowing that she was the only single person there (he didn’t count as she was pretty sure that he would bring any bimbo that he would find in a bar).

“I’m hurt” Tommy stated while putting his hands over his heart, pretending to have a heart attack due to Oliver’s words. “Well, I guess that I have to spend my time with my girlfriend now…” She replied by giving him a look as asking him to stop the joke there.

After spending half an hour debating on what to eat and what to do, they could only agree on a disagreement. They all had different things in mind. While Nyssa and Sara wanted to spend the last rays of sunlight near the lake, Caitlin and  Ronnie wanted to explore their surroundings. Even though Iris and Tommy were ready to adapt themselves to what the others wanted to do, the host suggested going to some of the cities nearby that he used to visit when he was a little child. Oliver’s plan was to stay inside and let his friends enjoy their time together as couples, so that way he could have the time to think about what to do with his life after college. Everyone thought that him not choosing on something was a bad idea, so they kept trying to convince him to join any of them.

“If he wants to stay here, it’s up to him,” Felicity said, tired of listening to his friends trying to convince him to come along with them.

“Smoak finally getting what’s in my mind for the first time ever. Beware, it might start raining soon!” Oliver replied with a teasing tone.

Felicity gave her a look and then rolled her eyes. “And Queen trying to be way too funnier than what he is… What a sur- wait, no, that is pretty common. No surprise then”

“Smoak is using her usual friendliness, so I guess there’ll be no clouds at the end” He then winked at her,  knowing well she would always get mad at that.

“Seriously? Am I not the nice one here? Really? You are saying that when you usually are the one who ditches us on our night out in order to get into a chick’s pants? How does that give you the right to say who is nice or not?” After having dealt with Felicity’s remarks before, he already knew that if he kept pushing, they would start one of their famous arguments, so he just kept his fake smile. Before Felicity could say something else, she was interrupted.

“We get it, you don’t get along. Just leave it there, please. We all came here to have a good time, right?” Ronnie said.

The two of them looked at each other for a second and didn’t reply to anything. It was in that moment they both remembered the promises they made to each other’s best friends.

“I’m sorry…” Felicity mouthed at Iris when she realized the look her roommate was giving her.

Oliver also apologized and looked at his phone. “Guys, you are wasting your time here doing nothing. If you really want to do something, you should decide right now”. Thanks to his comment, everyone was aware of the time. “We all came here to disconnect and have a great time together. No worrying about projects, exams or any other kind of problem that we may have, so just go! Don’t worry about me, I appreciate it, really. But I am more than okay with you going out while I stay here. Besides, I might go to the grocery store or anything for us to have some food here and not starve to death” He joked. “You can all go and I’ll find something interesting to do by myself. So go ahead and have fun!”

***

Except for Oliver and Felicity, everyone decided to go visit the city Tommy had suggested, however, when it was time for them to leave, Sara and Nyssa were already gone. According to what Caitlin told them, the two of them went to buy more wine and weren’t back yet. Not long after that, Caitlin and Ronnie found themselves craving some Thai food so, after doing some research of the area, they wanted to go to a restaurant far from the cottage. The rest didn’t mind them doing their own thing due to the fact that Sara and Nyssa had already left, so when they were asked, they accepted. At the moment, Iris, Tommy, and Felicity were the only one left to go out, so the later felt a bit conscious about it. For the same reason, she refused to share a room with Iris earlier, it didn’t feel right for her to join them at that moment: she didn’t want to get in the way of the couple. Despite their insistence, Felicity finally declined their offer, saying she had a last minute project to take care of.

Felicity took the book she used to keep in her purse and went outside to sit by the lake. Truth be told, she rathered the peaceful environment the lake offered along with a good book than the noisy life Las Vegas provided. Her mother goes on and on about her love life and how much she missed her were also two things that she didn’t enjoy that much either.

A few moments later, Felicity felt the common evening chill of the area, so she decided to go into the house to continue her reading there. She stopped herself for a second before putting her hand on the handle. The only person in the house was Oliver so the chances of her running into him were pretty high. There was a slight chance for him to still be at the grocery store, but there was an even bigger chance for him to be back already. That situation was quite common for the MIT student: she would always felt insecure about what to do so whenever she had to make a decision, she would take forever on doing so. It was also pretty common for her to end up acting impulsively whenever she realized how much time she had spent thinking of her options.

The blonde girl just sighed and opened the door. Everything was silent so she thought that maybe luck was on her side and Oliver was still out. Smiling to herself for a second, she went to the kitchen, where she found a pair of skillets ready to be used. She thought that he might have left those there for him to cook something after coming back. She also hoped for him to cook enough for her to eat something later when everyone was asleep. Felicity would never admit it to anyone but she loved Oliver’s cooking. Whenever they all decided to meet at someone’s house, he would always be the one making their snacks or their dinners. He would get Ronnie’s or Nyssa’s help from time to time, but most of the time it was just him.

What she didn’t know was that Oliver was in his own room, listening to some music with his headphones. He had just had an argument with his mother. Again. So he decided to just relax and avoid everything by being alone. There were two main topics he would argue about with his parents: one of them was what he had planned to do once he graduated, and the second one, the one addressed today, was how they would always accuse him of doing whatever he wanted and not thinking about them, and how he didn’t spend some quality time with them.

_“Seriously, Oliver, when are you going to grow up? You can’t always prioritize your parties and your friends over your family?” his mother said._

_He wanted to reply. He wanted to reply by saying that they understood him way better than his own family. He decided to just keep that in his mind though. “This is my senior year mom, I can have some fun with them” he answered._

_“That is no excuse for you to be out all the time… If you could at least show the same enthusiasm in your degree that you do in your parties, your grades would be way better. I must tell you your father is anything but happy about your grades this semester. He wants to talk to you as soon as you get back here”._

_Same old conversation. Oliver just sighed and rolled his eyes. “Whatever you say, mom. I’ll try more the next semester”. He paused for a second before continuing. “How is Thea doing?”_

_“Don’t try to change the topic, young man. You have to really focus on your degree. I don’t want you to postpone your graduation and your entrance at the company just because you didn’t want to study”._

_“I AM studying, mom” he started to get mad at the whole conversation. Not only she just decided to ignore his question, but also mention the company again. He was really tired of hearing about it._

_“That is not what your grades say, Oliver. I’m not joking, you shou-”_

_“I have to go now, mom. I’ll call you later” After saying that, he just hung up._

It was a 5-minute call but it felt longer than that. He was aware that he shouldn’t have finished the call like that, but he couldn’t take it anymore. He didn’t care anymore.

After a long time relaxing to get the argument out of his mind, he turned the music off and put his headphones away. It was when he heard a noise coming from the kitchen. He looked at the clock and realized that he had been in that room for way longer than he expected. Maybe some of his friends were already back, so he decided to go to the kitchen to greet them and prepare some food for him to eat.

Surprisingly, it wasn’t any of his friends. Well, not exactly at least. It was the one person who hated his guts the most. The one and only Felicity Smoak. He looked around to see if someone else was with her, but everything seemed to be really quiet so he deduced that it was not the case. The blonde woman was drinking a cup of the juice he had brought from the store and reading a book she had on the counter. In moments like those,  Oliver couldn’t help but think that, if she wasn’t always trying to pick on a fight with him, she could be a nice girl to talk to.

After a few minutes, Felicity finally noticed Oliver’s presence, so she put her book down and turned her eyes at him. “Why are you spying on me?” She asked, raising a brow. Great, she was using her ‘open your mouth and I’ll look for a way to fight you’ tone. He didn’t like that tone.

“Me? Spying on you? Really? You seem to be a bit too confident about yourself” She gave him a look but didn’t bother to reply. “Where is everyone else?”

“Out”.

“Out… where? Weren’t you all supposed to be together?”

“There was a change in our plans. I stayed”.

“Why?”

“I just decided to stay”.

“Yeah, but why?”

“And I should tell because…?”

“I was just curious, that’s it. Don’t tell if you don’t want to”.

“Whatever”.

Silence. Oliver took that moment to go to the fridge and take some things from it. He started cutting and getting stuff ready for his dinner. The noise was not something she was enjoying at that point.

“Would you mind? I am reading here. I know that it is not your forte, but it’s something you do better when everything is quiet”.

“Where am I supposed to cook if it’s not in the kitchen, huh?” Oliver said while trying to be as calm as he could possibly be. “You can always go to your room, you know?”

“I was here first, you should cook later” Felicity replied.

“Again, where am I supposed to cook then? It’s not like I am grilling something”

“I don’t really care, just do it later!”

“Since when do I have to listen what you said, Ms. Bossypants?” Oliver said. He was aware that using nicknames was a childish move, but he was losing his patience.

“Really? Bossypants? Aren’t you a bit grown up to use those na- Actually, I changed my mind. You are not a grown up”.

Before Felicity could even add something else, Oliver hit the counter with the food on it. He couldn’t take it anymore. That was something his parents would always use to describe him. He was sick of hearing those words.

Felicity was surprised. That made her close her mouth and looked at him. They had had their arguments before, but he had never done anything like that.

“You don’t know me! You are no one to say those things! **NO ONE**!”

_One._

_Two._

_Three._

She closed her eyes and took some air. She was surprised at him because that was the first time he had ever yelled at her like that. But she was also mad. After getting over her surprise, she was furious because he had dared to talk to her like that. She could not let that one go.

_One._

_Two._

_THREE._

“ENOUGH!” That time it was her turn to yell. He looked at her. “Then you can’t talk to me like that! I'm not one of your brainless conquers, you know? You can’t talk to me like that and get away with it!”

“It is always you the one to start! You are the one to think that you have everyone figured out, but you are wrong! You have no idea!”

“Seriously? Do I have no idea? I know guys like you! There’s not much for me to figure out! That’s why I can’t stand you! You fratboys are all the same!”

“Oh, really!?”

“YES!” she shouted. “I’ve known you for years and there hasn’t been any moment that proved me wrong! You think that you can do whatever you want with whoever you want just because you are a pretty face! I don’t even understand how Tommy or Sara has been friends with you for that long!”

“You little-”

“And I shouldn’t have let Iris convince me to come here!” she kept going “I should have followed my own plans. I should be in Las Vegas visiting my mother and dealing with her attempt to set me up. That way at least I wouldn’t have to deal with a rich playboy whose only goal in life is to drink and have sex… I tired of this, I should be disconnecting, but instead, I am here…”

Felicity was babbling. Until now, she had held all her stress caused by her latest tests but now she was letting it all go. And the one taking the bullet was Oliver. But he was stressed too and was planning to use that argument to let his own frustration out.

Although the business student wanted to reply, he kept his mouth shut. He was looking at her though. She kept talking so fast and saying unintelligible stuff that he had to stay quiet. But he wanted her to stop. He wanted to stop her but didn’t know how. If he opened his mouth, she wouldn’t stop. At that moment, one idea came to his mind. He couldn’t say something, but he could do something. Something inside his brain told him he would regret it later, but he just ignored and did it.

He kissed her.

Oliver kissed her. And it wasn’t a slow kiss. It wasn’t a tender one either. It was full of anger and antagonism. It was a way to let the fury they both had inside get out. Felicity froze for a second: her mind went blank and her body didn’t know how to react. Not even a minute ago, they were yelling at each other senseless and the next one they were kissing. Well, it was more like he was kissing her...

When her body was able to finally move, she pushed him away and slapped him. After that, the billionaire touched the hurt cheek without saying anything. He then looked at her and could have sworn that, if looks could kill, he would have been dead twice at that moment.

Oliver had kissed Felicity, the woman who hated him the most, and it was out of anger. He was out of words, but the reasonable part of his brain told him to leave. He turned around in order to go to his room when he noticed something pulling him by the arm. He turned his head to see what it was and saw Felicity. Before he could say anything, she let him go and pulled him by the shirt.

That time it was her kissing him. She was kissing him with the same intensity that he did earlier. Oliver grabbed her face with his right face and put the left one over her waist. They had been kissing for a few minutes when Oliver pushed her toward the kitchen island and got even closer to her.

None of them were thinking too much at that moment. The kiss was clumsy but full of fury. Felicity’s tongue welcomed Oliver’s as if it was the drink she was missing the most. Without putting too much thought on it, she awkwardly pulled his shirt up, making him take it off quickly and leave it on the floor.

They both knew how the whole thing would end up, but none of them did anything to stop it. The question was, did they wanted it to stop?

Oliver grabbed her by her thighs and lifted her to the island, making her wrap her legs around his waist. None of them said anything, but they knew what the other needed. It was almost like their bodies were reacting by themselves to each other embrace.

Deep inside the little conscious part of his brain, Oliver was thankful that she chose to wear a skirt that day. It wasn’t like she never wore a skirt, actually, she used to wear them all the time, but he had never been more thankful about that being a fact that in that moment… Everything was easier that way.

Felicity moaned when she felt his member pressed against her. She felt him kissing her neck as intensely as it all had started. It made her breath quicken.

Everything was happening so fast. In a matter of seconds, Felicity’s clothes were on the floor, including her bra, letting her breast free for Oliver to take in his mouth. He started with one while massaging the other. She bit her lower lip, trying to silence her moans, but she wasn’t able to do so. The blonde woman closed her eyes, strained her neck and put her hand on the kitchen island to give him full access to her body. When he was done with one of her breasts, he took the other one, sucking her nipple as frantically as he did with the first one.

Not long after, one of his hand found its way to her private area. He moaned on her breasts when he noticed how wet she was. God, she was so ready for him. She was as ready for him as he was for her. He wanted to say something about how wet she was, but instead, he just bit her left boob, which would probably leave a mark later, but… Who cared at that moment? Felicity gasped when she felt his teeth on her breast, that was enough.

Oliver was massaging her clit with his thumb when he put two fingers in her, she whispered a curse he still was able to hear. The heat could be felt all over the kitchen like they had turned on the oven to cook something. However, that was not the case. The heat was coming from their bodies. The same bodies that were looking for the other desperately like there was no tomorrow.

Oliver moved his fingers quickly without forgetting about her clit. Felicity moved her hip,  looking for more. His fingers weren’t enough at that point anymore. She enjoyed the first minutes of it, but, at that moment, she needed to meet the bulge in his pants. She clumsily unbuttoned his pants to have a better view of his member. But that was not enough. Oliver removed his fingers from inside her and looked at her eyes. None of them said anything. Nothing else mattered but the need of their bodies to finally meet.

“Wow” That the only thing that came out of Felicity’s mouth when she saw Oliver’s dick. She wasn’t really sure if she had really said that aloud. There was no time for her to think about that though. It was at that moment that she finally understood the reason why he was so popular amongst girls. In that specific moment, she hated him even more than before due to how much she wanted him. In that specific moment, she wanted him as much as she hated him.

Felicity took his member with her hand and stroke it. She could not do much more due to how high she was. Oliver connected their mouth one more time, desperately looking for her tongue and silencing his moans. She didn’t stop massaging his cock. None of them could even dare to postpone what was about to happen. He gently kissed her shoulder and separated himself a few inches to have a better access to her entrance.

It wasn’t slow. Felicity wasn’t even expecting for it to be.

Oliver’s moves were fast and desperate. His hands were on her waist leading their pace. Felicity’s moans made him move even faster. His gasps prevented him from saying anything. At that point, he wasn’t going to pretend to be a gentleman. They ended up in that situation because of the lust and fury they felt for each other.

Felicity moved her hips, feeling Oliver’s length, and let it go even deeper than before. He massaged one of her breasts while still having the other one on her hips and following the rhythm they had taken.

Oliver wasn’t able to control himself, not that he wanted to do it, so he took the other boob in his mouth one more time, licking all of it. He then moved to her neck, after remembering that that was one of Felicity’s weak points and that it would give her even more pleasure. She planted her nails into his back then move down and reached his butt. She grabbed it with both hands and she started to lead their pace to one even faster.

If there was something that turned him crazy was when a girl moaned on his ear. There was barely any girl who had done it before because, for some reason, he wouldn’t let them. But that time, Felicity was doing it. She was gasping on his ear and that made him fasten their rhythm, even more, making her bite his earlobe.

“God,” Oliver said with a broken voice the moment he felt her teeth. He hated what she was making him feel. He hated the need he had of tasting every single inch of her body and mark her all over it. He hated the way his own body was reacting because of hers. And he knew she felt the same way.

Felicity wasn’t able to control her own body. She wasn’t aware that kissing and sucking Oliver’s neck was not a good idea (but they would the moment they will notice the more than visible marks that would appear later). Oliver massaged her clit in circles at the same time he kept pushing into her. She couldn’t take it anymore. She felt like she was about to explode at any minute. Her heartbeat was frantic. Her body was all sweaty. Her ponytail was a mess and she couldn’t even remember where did she leave her glasses. She wasn’t able to control herself and, like Oliver, she didn’t want to. She let herself go. She hid her face on his neck as she was about to reach her climax. When she finally did, she moaned on Oliver’s ear, the very same thing that very few people had ever done. The sound made Oliver join her in her bliss as he pushed just a few more times into her.

As soon as it was over, neither of them knew what to say. Oliver softly kissed her head and separated himself from her. Not even wasting a second, Felicity searched for her clothes scattered across the floor. After she regained the ability  to properly use her brain again, she didn’t know what to do. 

“Don’t say anything” she finally said, pointing at him with her finger. Then she gathered all her clothes and left. 

Having sex with Oliver was good. That was it. It was just sex with the person she hated the most. And that could not happen again. Ever.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well... well... this was my first time writing smut and I'm very nervous about it, I tried to do my best but I'm nervous about what you all think about it. Anyway, hope you have enjoyed and again, any kind of comments are welcome. Be kind.  
> you can talk to me on twitter: @amiipond  
> or on tumblr: felicitysmoakq


	2. Nothing Happened!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HELLOO!!!!  
> Firstly, THANK YOU SO MUCH for all the good comments, they mean a lot to mean, hope you enjoy this new chapter.  
> Thank you so much yo my friend Vivian, without her help this story it wouldn't have been possible. Thank you so much to my wonderful Beta, Elley, for being so patient.  
> ENJOY!!!!!

                                                                                         

 Felicity was woken up by the sun. She took her phone to look at the time, but unfortunately for her, it ran out of battery. She rolled on the bed, staring at the ceiling for a few seconds. Stretching out a little, she couldn’t help but notice that everything was silent. It was not a surprise, she guessed that everyone might have still been in bed resting or at least doing something with their significant other.

The MIT student started to take her clothes off in order to have a shower. At every piece of clothes, she was putting on a pile next to the mirror, she noticed all the marks Oliver had left on her body. She had left marks on him too. The mere thought of her doing so seemed crazy to her.

Felicity had never been one of those girls who had one night stands. In fact, after that awful break-up with her last boyfriend two years ago, she hadn’t been intimate with anyone. Well, that was until the night before at least. When Cooper cheated on her, her self-esteem had dropped but before she sank herself into her own sorrow, Iris and Alena had kept her sane. That was the moment she decided to focus more on her degree and leave what happened to her behind. Felicity had tried her best to change both inside and outside, so besides putting her love life aside, she had dyed her hair and threw away her gothic look.

One of the main reasons she hated Oliver was the fact that he reminded her of Cooper. It wasn’t like he had ever cheated on anyone, he should have been in a relationship for him to do so in the first place, but she couldn’t stand the way he treated women. She had witnessed girls crying over Oliver not calling them or the fact that he was not interested in having anything serious with them. That combination made her see Cooper in Oliver and she was not happy about having someone like that close to her.

Thinking about it, they weren't meant to get along, starting with the day they were introduced. Iris wanted to introduce her best friend to Tommy, and he wanted to do the same thing with his own friend. That was why the four of them decided to meet for dinner and have some drinks to talk and have a good time.

One of the moments Felicity could perfectly remember was when Oliver tried to flirt with her as soon as they exchanged their names. She had to tell him to stop trying after sometimes because he kept flirting with her. She was not going to deny that Oliver had the most beautiful blue eyes she had ever seen (she was sure she would have got lost in them if she had kept staring for too long) and that his well-defined abs could be noticed under the blue shirt he was wearing.

There was no point of denying the physical attraction was there at the beginning. Well, it was there until she realized that the Oliver in their table was THE OLIVER that all the girls in her campus had mentioned more than once. Even when Oliver wasn’t a student at  MIT, he was well-known by most people, especially girls, due to all the parties he would attend through the year.

Felicity could understand why there were so many girls who had crushes on him, it was more than clear because of his looks, but his personality… it wasn't his best side… She had heard many rumors about how he would sleep around with different girls but had no intentions to see them ever again.

Every time Felicity would hear about him, she had always thought they were exaggerating, but just after spending some minutes with him, she could verify that all those rumors were true… She tried her best to be polite after her epiphany, but when Oliver had noticed she wasn’t flirting back anymore, he had started to just nod at her while checking out another girl. At some point, Oliver had just stood up and went to talk to that random girl, leaving Tommy with an apologetic face and trying to explain to them that, even though he was a bit of a womanizer, he was a good person.

Felicity was not someone to judge people just by their first impression, so she had tried her best to get along with him. If a nice guy like Tommy said that he was a good person, she was going to befriend him too. She actually meant it. She actually wanted to know him better, not just because Oliver was Tommy's best friend, but also because Felicity was not someone to let some rumors get in the way of a potential new friend.

She thought that if Iris and Tommy were going to be as close as it looked like, their own friendship would totally come in handy. However, as much as she tried to make it work, her intentions had died in just a couple of months.

One night, after they decided to party together Oliver had proposed them to be the designated driver. At first, Felicity thought that it was a nice gesture, but her feelings changed the moment they were about to go home. One of the guys from the party told them he saw Oliver leaving with the car alongside a girl.

According to what the guy heard, it looked like he used the car to impress her. Hearing how Oliver left them on their luck to find a way home had made Felicity mad. Not just because she had to deal with drunk Tommy and Iris, but also because she had to be the one paying for their taxi (as the future doctor refused to pay for it because he wanted to stay).

She couldn’t remain mad for too long because the car was his, so he was on his right to use it. It wasn’t like they were in a life or death situation either, she just had to deal with their drunk friends, so there was no need to make a fuss about it.

She was glad to see that Oliver had also tried to get along with her, at least which was what it looked like when he had asked her to help him on a math test. Their degrees were totally different, but Felicity was great in math no matter the kind and it seemed to be a really important test, (or at least that was what he said), so she had accepted. For a couple of weeks, Felicity had organized all the important parts that could be useful and tutored him.

Besides all the effort they had put on his subject, they also tried to start a conversation, which made her proud when she saw all the progress he was doing. It turned out that all her efforts were useless. The night before his exam, Felicity texted him to wish him good luck but didn’t get a reply. The next thing she knew was that Oliver hadn’t been able to take his test because he overslept and forgot all about it due to a late party he attended the night before. She was furious and frustrated because of all the time she had lost trying to help him. Oliver apologized multiple times and she ended up forgiving him. It was his own future, so there was no point on her staying mad at something that didn’t really affect her. If he wanted to waste his student’s life that way, she couldn’t say anything about it.

Although she was mad for a while, Felicity didn’t really let it get to her. She kept trying to befriend Oliver and for months you could say that they were sort of friends. They weren’t the best of friends but they could have fun when they went out together. It was back then when Sara, Oliver and Tommy’s childhood friend, and her girlfriend Nyssa joined their group. Later on, while they were having fun at their usual bar, Tommy spotted one of his classmates, Caitlin, with her boyfriend Ronnie.

The group of 6 grew to 8, thanks to them, and then to 9 when Felicity introduced them to Alena, a girl she tutored from MIT. Everything seemed right for a time, but when Felicity has expected it the less, Oliver definitively threw her trust away.

Felicity had always been a driven person, whenever she put her mind into something, she would do her best to succeed, especially when it came to her career. There was a time when she was offered the chance to exhibit one of the projects she had been working for months to a tech company. 

The campus counselor had told her that if she did a great presentation, they could offer her an internship at their company, so she wanted it to go as perfectly as possible. She worked really hard on it and had everything ready, but one problem had remained: her presentation was on the other side of the city and she had no way to get there. Just the thought of not being able to prepare everything on time and have it as neat as possible had freaked her out. A LOT.

_“I’d drop you off, but I have a really important project and I’m getting behind so I can’t, sorry…” Tommy apologized. Her presentation was after class and she would make it on time if she took the bus forty minutes after she was done. However, that would only allow her to just arrive by the time she was supposed to start more or less and she didn’t want that. She wanted to be there earlier and have everything ready before the people from that tech company could get into the room. And to do so, her only option was getting a car ride. She didn't have a car and taking a taxi or an Uber was out of the question due to how much it would cost her. That was_ _why she asked her friends if there was someone who could drop her at the company._

_“Don’t worry about it, if you have something important to do, I totally get it.” Felicity was starting to think that maybe getting there by bus was her only option when Tommy suggested something._

_"Oliver could do it," the soon-to-be doctor said, making Oliver turn to look at him._

_Oliver then turned to look at the blonde girl who was tearing a napkin into small pieces because of stress. She wasn’t really looking at him, she was too focused on what she was doing to the poor napkin to even notice his eyes. He thought that it was not a big deal, he had the day off and that presentation seemed important so it didn’t take too long for him to accept. “I guess I could take you there," he said, making Felicity let the napkin go and turn to look at him with an ‘are you serious?' expression. When she didn't see any sign of a joke on his_ _face, she stood up from her seat to thank him with a hug. It really meant something to her due to how important that meeting was to her and that was the only way she had to show him how much she appreciated it._

_The day of the presentation, Felicity tried her best to be at their meeting point as fast as she could even run to the bus station even though she was wearing heels. When she got there, Oliver wasn't there, so she thought that maybe she got too excited_ _. Then the time they agreed to meet arrived and he wasn’t there._

_Then 5 minutes passed. Then 10. Then 15. Then 20. She had called him many times, but he had his phone off, so Felicity could only listen to his voicemail every time she dialed. She could see many people walking and taking different buses to get to their own destinations while she just stood there wondering what to do. By the time the bus she was supposed to take was about to arrive, she called him one more time to only to have the same reply she had before. His voicemail._

_That was it. That was the moment she decided that she was over trusting Oliver on anything again. Sure, her presentation was okay, but it wasn’t as perfect as she wanted it to be, so she was angry. Angry at him, but also at herself for trusting him. She swore to herself to never put her trust on him ever again. That sort of friendship that they had was over. She was done playing her little games. She was done trying to put Oliver’s behavior aside for her to try to befriend him._

_If he was someone to put parties and girl on top of everything else no matter how important they were or how his decisions would effect on others, she was done with him._

_By the time Felicity arrived at her apartment that day, it was almost 8.30 pm_ _, and it was dark already. She was looking for her keys when she heard a car park at the entrance. When the door opened, she heard a voice calling her. It was Oliver, who approached her. Felicity stopped. She didn’t turn to look at him, she just stopped._

_“Good night, Oliver. Good to see you, how is it going?” Her nice words weren’t matching her tone. She sounded anything but happy to see him._

_“Look, Felicity, I’m…” Oliver started to say. “Don’t even bother. I won’t buy it.” she interrupted him. “I don’t know what excuse you were planning to tell me, but it’s not going to work”._

_“I understand that you are mad, it was important to you, but just let me-” Again, he was interrupted._

_“You are right! It was important!” Felicity said finally turning around to look at him. “It might not have been important to you, as it had nothing to do with girls to make out with or a big party on campus, but it was important to me!”_

_"I understand that_ _it’s just-”_

_“Save it, okay? If you really understood how important it was to me, we wouldn’t be having this conversation now”. Felicity stopped for a second to take a breath. Oliver took that moment to try to explain himself._

_“I’m sorry, okay? I was really going to get you, but then-” Before Felicity could hear anything else, she noticed that there was someone else in the car. A woman._

_“Then what? You met a girl and couldn’t resist it?” By this time she was shouting while pointing at his car. “Please! I had enough of that!”_

_“What?” Oliver then remembered the girl there. “That’s not what-”_

_“I’m done. I’m done trying to make excuses for me to get along with you. I’m done trying to find a friend in someone like you. This couple of months of us being friendly towards each other is over. I don’t want to hear anything you say, so good night”. And with that she turned around and reach the building’s door, not letting Oliver have a chance to say anything._

After that incident, Felicity wanted nothing to with him. She tried her best to ignore him, which wasn't a hard task. She used to put all those things she didn't like about him aside but now that she'd decided not to do it anymore, they really annoyed her. No matter what he did or said, it really bugged her. Whenever Iris or anyone tried to make them talk or interact, Felicity would just focus on something else, so at some point, they stopped trying. She couldn't stand being alone with him. If he wasn't friends with everyone in their group of friends, she would have ignored his existence completely.

***

Felicity got out of the shower and took one of the blue towels located on the shelf. After putting the towel around her body, she looked at herself in the mirror. To be more specific, she was looking at the hickey that she had on her neck while thinking about how to hide it from everyone else. She didn’t want anyone to ask about it, as it was something she didn’t want anyone to ever find out.

When she opened the bathroom’s door, Felicity found Oliver sitting on her bed, checking his phone. What the hell was he doing here?

“Is there any reason for you to be in my room and not in yours?” Felicity asked apparently mad. That made the man in her room lock his phone and look at her. She was only covered by the towel around her body and her hair was up in a bun, letting some locks of hair go down on her face.

Oliver didn’t say anything for a second before focusing on her face, instead of on her amazing body. He cleared his throat and answered her. “We need to talk.”

Felicity gulped and looked at him for a few seconds, not making any sound nor moving at all.

“There’s nothing for us to talk about. Nothing happened, so could you please get off my bed and leave my room? I’d like to get dressed peacefully, so if you don’t mind…” Her tone was serious yet calm. At least she tried her best to sound calm. Just thinking about what happened last night made her whole body shiver.

"Felicity, we had unprotected sex. Of course, we have to talk about it".

The blonde girl just smirked.

“I am on the pill, I’m not an idiot. So you can just go now” Felicity just approached the door to open it, inviting him to leave the room.

Oliver looked at her but didn't say a word. He remained there for a second and then stood up to leave. His thoughts at that moment were slightly calmer than before he went to her room, but they weren’t completely at ease. He would always make sure to use protection whenever he decided to have sex with someone, which is why he would carry around some condoms in his wallet. However, when he did it with Felicity… it was different.

He didn’t even think about it and he was mad at himself. He was furious because he let his anger control him. He lost control and ended up sleeping with the one person he never thought he would. The worst part of all was that even though he shouldn’t even think about it, he couldn’t help doing so.

When Oliver had woken up and went to his bathroom, he had immediately noticed the hickey Felicity had left in his body. He had remembered giving her one, but looking at his own, he thought he was bigger. That wouldn't be the first one he had ever had, so he could make up something to explain it. Coming from him, his friends would believe anything, no matter what. 

"Hey, Oliver" Ronnie said when he saw Oliver coming towards the kitchen. “Good morning, are you hungry? I’ve made some toast for all of us, take some if you want to”.

“Toasts, huh?” Oliver said teasingly. “That must have been a really difficult job… Aren’t they burned?”

"Haha. Thankfully, the toaster and I are in good terms, so they’re safe” Ronnie replied, playing along with him.

Before Oliver could add something else, they both noticed someone taking one of the toasts on the plate.

“Not bad for someone who’s the main dish usually is frozen pizza, but…" Sara said after taking a bite to the toast. "Are you planning on us eating them with nothing else?"

“What? No!” Caitlin’s boyfriend replied.

“Then why is there just toast on the table?” Oliver said.

"Uh… I thought maybe Oliver could prepare some scrambled eggs or an omelet" Ronnie said. "Especially now that I know how you feel about my cooking".

“That would be really nice of you, Oliver!” a voice coming from behind said. The three turned around to see the house’s owner approaching them. “Considering how you ditched us last night.”

“Ditched you, really?” Oliver said. “I didn’t really ditch you… Did you miss me that much? What would your girlfriend think?”

"Shut up, and cook, I'm hungry," Tommy said.

"Alright, alright," Oliver said. "But I can't assure you that they will be perfect".

joining them. Oliver got himself an apron and went to the fridge to get some of the ingredients he needed.

“Look at him go with his fabulous apron as usual. Would there be a day for you to forget all about it” Sara said looking at her friend.

“You kidding?” Tommy said. “Such a professional like him would never do that!”

Soon after that, both Caitlin and Nyssa arrived in the kitchen too. They all started to get ready to eat and joke around, except for Felicity. She was still in her bathroom trying to find a way to cover up the hickey Oliver had left in her neck. No one would believe her if she said they were from a bug bite, so she had no excuse.

When everyone was almost done with their food, Felicity finally came downstairs. She had her hair down, which was quite unusual coming from her. Sure, she would wear it like that from time to time, but it was really uncommon.

“Good morning everyone”, Felicity said. “Sorry, I was taking a shower and lost track of the time…” Soon after saying that, she realized the complication of her own words and tried to correct them. “I didn’t mean that I was doing something weird in there, especially anything sexual and all, it’s just… What am I saying? You know what, I’m just going to stop talking…”

That was Felicity at her fullest, so everyone just laughed at her words. Everyone except for Oliver, who was just looking at her while taking a sip from his cup.

“I am starving and it smells so good! What is it?” the blonde girl asked, not knowing Oliver was the one who prepared it.

"I made a cheese omelet. Yours is on the counter" Oliver replied with a serious expression in his face. He tried his best to sound normal. He didn't want to sound nicer just because the two of them had sex. Besides, he didn't want anyone else to find out about what happened.

Felicity just looked at him. She took her plate and sat next to Iris. She was really hoping that all the makeup she had used would work and no one would notice.

Tommy was helping Oliver picking up all the dirty dishes on the table when he saw something on his neck.

“HOLY SHIT!” Tommy shouted as he took a closer look at his friend’s neck. “Is that a hickey?” The mere thought surprised him. Oliver wasn’t someone to let any girl mark him like that. He would always say that if a girl gave him a hickey, it would only make other reject him.

Oliver just kept picking up the dishes, leaving Tommy speechless. After turning on the dishwasher, he faced Tommy. “Well, you know, there’s always a first time for everything” The business student replied with a smirk on his face.

"And who was the girl? Do I know her? When did it happen?" Tommy asked. "How is it that I didn't notice it before? I mean, it's really hard to miss… So whoever she was, it must have been pretty wild". One of Tommy's hobbies was teasing his best friend. Especially about those topics, because Oliver would do the same if the situations were reversed.

“I actually thought you already noticed it. It was… two days ago” Oliver said, lying. “And to answer some of your questions: no, you don’t know her. She was a random girl I met at a bar.”

“I wanna see, I wanna see!” Iris said, getting up. “Oh my God, Oliver. Are you sure that girl was a human and not a vampire? I mean, it looks like she was trying to suck your blood”.

Felicity checked her phone and did her best to pretend she had received a call from her mother. She was lucky that all her friends were more interested in Oliver’s neck than in her face. They would have noticed how her usual fair complexion had changed to a red one. She hated herself for being the one who marked him like that. She also hated Oliver for not even try to hide. It was true that it was easy for him to pretend it was from someone else, but she didn’t have that luck.

***

The following week went by as usual. Oliver did his best to talk to Felicity about what happened between them, but she ignored him. They weren't arguing as they would usually do either, but that didn't surprise anyone because they were all busy doing their own stuff. Besides, Iris and Tommy asked them to behave, so they did actually stop fighting… What they didn't know was that they had to have sex to do so.

Once the group arrived in Boston, they all went back to their lives. Felicity had never been so happy at the thought of going back to class, but that was only to stop thinking about what happened when she was at the cottage. She didn’t want to think about it but she couldn’t help it. The MIT girl came to the realization that if she was back to school, it would be easier for her to avoid him. If she was lucky, Oliver would start going after another girl and forget about them hooking up… She really thought that would be the case.  

***

Oliver was not someone who thought continuously about a hook up with a girl. He would always be with one girl and move on. That was the reason why he was surprised with himself. He couldn’t stop thinking about what happened with Felicity. True, it all happened out of anger but… It was driving him crazy! He kept remembering every single minute of it when he had never done something like that. Ever. He wouldn’t even try to remember the names of girls he slept with. But why was it that hard to do the same thing that time?

He couldn’t understand why he kept thinking about that moment. He couldn’t stop thinking about how great Felicity’s skin felt against his hand. He couldn’t stop thinking about the taste of her lips. Or her hands caressing his back. Or her moans against his ear.

Oliver shook his head, closed angrily the Business Analytics book he was using and tossed it at the other side of his desk. He had been trying to read it for a few hours, in order to do a project due two weeks later, but his mind had been somewhere else and it had been really hard for him to concentrate.

He stood up and left the room to find Tommy in the living room. He was on his computer, watching the news.

“Want to go out and have some drinks?” Oliver asked his best friend. He needed to leave the apartment and stop thinking about what he shouldn’t be thinking.

Tommy raised his eyebrow and looked at him with a smirk on his face. “I would love to, but you have no idea all the things I have to do now. I don’t even think I will be able to see Iris that much this week. Can you believe I thought becoming a doctor was a good idea? How wrong I was, wasn’t I?”

“Uh… Well, it’s okay then. I’ll go out by myself. I just need to disconnect”.

"Did something happen?" Tommy asked worriedly.

“Well, nothing new actually… Just the usual, I’ve had an argument with my father” the business student lied. He knew Tommy would believe him if he said something related to his parents.

“Do you need to talk about it? I can take a break so we can-”

“No” Oliver interrupted him. “It’s okay, I just need to get out for a few hours”.

"You know that if it was on some other occasion, I would go with you, no doubt. It's just that this week is going to be extremely busy… I like going out, but I need to focus a bit more if I want to become a good doctor”.

Oliver nodded. “It’s okay, don’t worry”. He said goodbye to Tommy and left the apartment.

***

The following week, everything remained the same. Oliver and Felicity saw each other twice the week before, but Oliver wasn’t able to talk to her. He had started to think that maybe there was nothing for them to talk about. He started to think that maybe it was better for them to leave things the way they were at that moment.

He was pretty aware that Felicity hated his guts. She had her reasons, of course, and even if he tried to change her opinion of him at first, he stopped trying when he thought it was an impossible task.

After that, the two of them just couldn’t share a nice conversation, causing him to know not too much about her. It wasn’t like he knew nothing about her either. He knew a few things about her:  she came from Vegas, her mother’s name was Donna and she was a genius who skipped some grades in school, making her a senior in college like them when she was two years younger. Well, he also knew that, even though she tried her best to seem like a really nice girl, she might have got a fake ID in order to get into the bar with them. She was two years younger that was the only explanation.

Oliver had no reason to hate her. Yes, she had been the only girl who didn’t play along with his flirty insinuation when they first met, but he didn’t hate her for that. They even tried to be friends at the beginning, so it wasn’t like he couldn’t be around her. He understood why she decided to stop trying to be friendly around him. He couldn’t really blame her, but she didn’t really let him explain himself that time. If she wasn’t going to listen to him, he wouldn’t let her pick on him without a fight. It was a bit childish, he knew that, but it was funnier that way. Well, at least he wasn’t the one taking it all too seriously, unlike her who would get even more irritated at him.

***

It was like any other Sunday, except that Tommy’s favorite baseball team was going to play that evening. The whole group decided to watch the game at Tommy and Oliver’s apartment with some pizzas and beer.

Tommy couldn’t stop shouting at the TV whenever a player of his team would do something he wasn’t supposed to, making everyone laugh at him.

Oliver was really into the game too, well, not as much as Tommy, but he was paying attention to what was happening too. It was his best way to ignore that fact that Felicity was in the same room. She was still doing whatever she could to avoid him, so he thought that if she was really not interested in talking about what happened between them, he would play along and avoid her too. He decided to stop not only trying to talk to her but also teasing her at all. Ignorance would be too".

Felicity had long noticed that Oliver was ignoring her too. A part of her was glad that he did: that way she didn’t have to face him ever again after their hook up. However… there was another part of her that, no matter how hard she tried to convince herself otherwise, wanted to catch his attention. That part of her wanted things to be like they were before when she would say something about him and he would react in some way. Their situation at this point… was making it really hard for everything to go back to normal.

The whole thing was really confusing to Felicity: she had mixed feelings. It was like she didn’t even know what was happening to herself. She was there, surrounded by her friends, trying to have fun with them and forget about what happened, but thinking about what Oliver was doing and remembering why things were like that in the first place. It didn’t make any sense to her: she was the one who wanted to forget all about it, but she was thinking about it more than what she dared to say.

“AND WE WOOOON” Tommy said, hopping off the couch. “That’s my fucking team!” He added with pure happiness. He then turned to her girlfriend and kissed her. “We need to go out and celebrate it!”

"I was hoping you would say that," Sara said, getting up and moving towards the door. Everyone else started to follow her example and left the couch. “I need a good beer and not the cheap one you gave us”.

“Hey” Tommy replied, offended.

“You shouldn’t say those things, Sara. We are his guests” Nyssa said defending Tommy. “It might be true, but you shouldn’t say those things aloud. His feelings might be hurt”.

Everyone just laughed at the comment, except for Tommy who kept pretending to be offended by their words.

"Alright, alright!" Tommy said, dropping his sad expression. "I am in such a good mood now that I feel like paying for around to all of you!" They all cheered while grabbing their coats. "Except for Nyssa and Sara, ‘cause apparently the beer I choose is not good enough”

“Hey, don’t be like that! It wasn’t that bad!” Sara replied trying to change his childhood friend’s mind.

“Yeah, yeah, right!” Tommy just said.

Everybody was already ready to go when Felicity had to break their mood.

“Sorry guys, but I’ll just go home," the MIT student said. Before anyone could say something, she added "I have an important project to hand in tomorrow so… If you don't mind, I think I'd rather go home". Truth to be told, she didn't really have any project to hand in, but she didn’t want to spend her night at the bar with Oliver around.

“Come on, Smoak! You can’t do this to me, you need to come with us!” the future doctor said, putting an arm around her. “We are not going to stay there the whole night and you shouldn’t miss your chance to get Tommy Merlyn to pay you a drink!"

"As tempting as it sounds, this project is really important if I want to pass the whole year, so I think I need to decline," Felicity said.

The whole group tried to make her join them, except for Oliver who remained quiet on the couch with his arms crossed, but none of them succeed.

When they were all out of the apartment about to lock the door, Oliver told them he wouldn’t go with them either. When they all asked his reason to stay, he just said he had a date with a girl, so they didn't insist more. He did meet a girl on his campus who gave him her phone number but he hadn't called her yet. Was it Hannah? No, maybe it was Ana or Joana? He didn't even care to remember her name, he added her as _“college hot girl 20_ ”.

Oliver was not interested in getting to know her, so there was no need to even try to remember her name. He just wanted to get Felicity out of his head, so he thought he should try to have fun with that unnamed girl. Before calling her though, he decided to prepare something to eat as the pizza wasn’t that good.

Everyone else was almost reaching the parking lot when Felicity stopped walking. She was checking her purse and her jacket apparently looking for something. When they asked her about it, she just looked at them.

"My phone," Felicity said still checking in her stuff. Then the realization hit her. “I’ve left my phone upstairs”.

“Oh, well, Oliver is still there, but you should go before he leaves for his date," Tommy said. 

Felicity gulped. She didn’t want to be alone in the same room as Oliver. It wasn’t something she wanted to do but it looked like she didn’t have a choice.

“And do you think he’s going to open the door when he realizes it’s me? That would be too nice coming from him” Felicity said.

"He will don't worry about it" Tommy just replied. "Hurry up though, he might leave soon and I don't want to waste too much time".

“What do you mean?” the blonde girl asked.

“I’m taking you home, so please, can you hurry?” the pre-med student answered.

"Oh, you don't have to! I mean, it's really nice to offer but you can just go. I’ll go by myself” Felicity said.

“Are you sure?” Iris asked. “It’s a far from here by foot and it’s already a bit late”.

"It's okay, I'll call an Uber or something," the blonde said to her roommate.

“Then you should go upstairs and get your phone for that, right?” Tommy said. “We’ll just go”.

“What?” Felicity asked. “I don’t want to deal with him tonight, I don’t feel like it… Can any of you go instead?”

“Felicity, it’s your phone, we don’t have to go. No matter what kind of problem you have with Oliver, Just go there, and get your phone and leave. You don’t even have to talk to him that much” Iris said. “I’ll see later, okay?”

Before the blonde girl could even add something else, the couple just turned around and went to Tommy’s car. Felicity just sighed and watched her friends leave.

***

Felicity was staring at Tommy and Oliver’s door and thinking if she should knock or just go home without her phone. She then remembered that if she didn't get her phone, she would have to go back home walking for almost 40 minutes at night. In the end, she realized she was thinking too much about the whole situation. She would only knock, get in, find her phone and leave. Thankfully, she would only need to exchange just two or three words with Oliver. She finally knocked and waited for him to open. Nothing wrong should happen, right?

The sound of someone moving behind the door could be heard. Felicity was starting to get a bit nervous, which was something she didn’t really understand. She took a deep breath and the door in front of her was opened.

“Felicity?” Oliver said a bit surprised. He wasn’t really expecting for her to show up in his apartment when no one but him was there. “What are you doing here?”

“Uh… Well… I just…” Felicity tried to talk confidently, but she wasn’t really succeeding. After coughing a little and looking anywhere but him, she finally answered his question. “I just forgot my phone here, can I come in and get it?”

“Oh” Oliver didn’t really know why but he was somewhat disappointed at hearing that. Maybe he expected that she might have returned to talk about what happened. When he realized his mistake, he stepped aside and let her in.

Felicity got inside the apartment and went to the living room to grab her phone. She looked around and found it on the couch. As soon as she had her phone in her hands, she turned around and went to the front door, only to find it closed and with Oliver in front of it. When she reached the door, she expected him to move aside and let her go, but to her surprise, he didn't even move an inch. Felicity was about to touch the door handle when Oliver finally moved. He didn't move aside though. He raised one of his hands and block the door.

“What the hell are you doing?” Felicity tried to sound as mad as possible, although deep down she was a bit nervous.

"We need to talk," Oliver said.

“About what?” That was the only thing she could say. At that moment, she really didn’t want to even think about it.

“You know what” he replied.

“Again?” Felicity said. “There’s nothing for us to talk about. I actually thought you forgot all about it, so I was glad” Oliver remained in the same position but closed his eyes. “Can I just go? It’s getting late and I need to get home”.

"No, not until we talk about it," Oliver said.

“For the umpteenth time, there’s nothing to talk about because nothing happened” the blonde girl replied.

“Really? Nothing happened? For real?”

“Yes, nothing happened, so no need to talk” Felicity stated. “Now, could you please let me go home?”

“Are you really going to pretend that ‘it’ didn’t happen? Why don’t you want to-”

“NOTHING HAPPENED!” Felicity interrupted him.

After that shout, there was only silence in the room. Felicity had made perfectly clear that what happened between them was a mistake. Oliver couldn’t accept it though. How could it be possible that he was the only one feeling like they had to talk about it? In another situation he would just let it go and not even think about it again, why wasn’t he doing that? He kept his eyes on her hoping to see any sign that she would say something, that she would calm down and talk, but nothing came out of her mouth. She was also looking at him, trying to remain as calm as possible.

Then she looked away. That was the moment he finally realized the reason she didn’t want to talk about. The reason she wanted to pretend it didn’t happen. And it was the same reason why he wanted to have been pushing the whole time. It was because, even though they tried their best to hide it, they were attracted to each other. When the idea crossed his mind, Oliver just moved his hand down. He didn’t need to know anything else at that moment.

Felicity kept her eyes on him, looking at him turning around and walking away from her. She saw how he ran his hand over his head while he was leaving the entrance. She opened her mouth but nothing came out of it.

"You can go now," Oliver said from where he was.

The blonde girl didn’t move though. She was still at the door with her hand on the door handle. If she was free to go, why wasn’t she moving? Why was she still at the door? Why was her heart beating really hard? When did it even start to beat that way? She kept looking at his back, but she didn’t understand the reason behind her actions.

There were so many things she wanted to yell at him: like how he should respect her wishes, like how what happened between them meant nothing, like what he did to her to not stop thinking about _that_... She wasn’t saying anything because it could imply something she was no ready to face yet. Maybe not ever. She hated him. She hated how much the image of the kitchen adventure kept returning in her head. She hated that a part of her actually enjoyed it. She hated that it was him, among everyone else, who was making her feel those things. And she hated how much she wanted to do it again.

When Oliver didn’t hear the door open, he turned around and looked at her. He was about to ask her why she was still there, but before he could open his mouth, Felicity approaches him and kissed him. It wasn't tender nor sweet. Behind that kiss, there was frustration and fury. Felicity opened her mouth, letting his tongue have free access to it. Their tongues were playing with each other at the same intensity as their mouths were.

Before she could even think about what she was doing, Felicity raised one of her hands to touch and stroke his hair, while the other let all her stuff at the floor. At the same time, Oliver helps her head with both of his hands. Then he let one of them go down to her hip to get her closer to his body. He needed to feel her close to him. It was like his whole body was desperately asking for it.

The two of them were able to stop whatever was going on at that moment, but none of them did anything. They just forgot that there was a whole world beside them. They forgot that whatever they were doing, it would have consequences later. Nothing else actually mattered at that moment. There was not a time for them to think, they would do it later.

Without a warning, Oliver tried to unzip her pants desperately, making Felicity do the same thing in return. He couldn’t help but moan, feeling her getting close to his cock.

The business student separated himself a little bit from her mouth to move towards her neck. She could only strain it in order to give him a better access. He wasn’t able to understand how it seemed like he couldn’t get enough of her. He needed to taste every single part of her body but he knew this was not the right time for that.

Unable to control himself, Oliver pinched her butt and, at that moment, he could swear that he had never seen such a perfect butt as hers. He had always thought her butt was great, but being able to actually touch it was a completely new experience to him. Felicity moaned loudly and moved her hips to feel his length.

Oliver couldn’t even pretend to be gentle. Their first time hadn’t been like that, neither was going to be in that moment. Soon enough, his other hand also went down to caress the inner side of her tights. He could really feel how ready she was for him, and that single thought turned him crazy.

She couldn’t help but shiver and bite her lower lip the moment she felt Oliver’s fingers at her entrance. She needed more than that. There was no time to play games, she needed to feel him inside her. Felicity took control of the situation and pulled down both his pants and boxers, barely touching his cock. Oliver’s eyes found hers understanding her needs in an instant.

Oliver grabbed one of her legs and lifted her to have a better access to her entrance, but not before making sure there were no barriers between them. When there wasn't any piece of cloth left, he thrust into her. Felicity moaned really loudly, showing her surprise. It was exactly what she needed but she didn’t expect it yet. It wasn’t like she was complaining anyway. In order to be in a better position, Oliver moved them to the closest wall. While he was doing that, Felicity used her hands to support herself: one went to the wall, the other one to his shoulder. Once they were more comfortable, he kept moving into her.

“Oh God!” the blonde girl moaned at his movements. “Keep moving!”

Oliver did as he was told: he kept moving. Faster each time. In order to thrust even deeper, he grabbed her other leg. He then moved her hands to her butt, having a better access to her. He was so focused on her that he completely forgot all about the fact that he was supposed to call that girl from his campus. He could only think of kissing her neck to make her feel even better. Their groans were the only thing that could be heard. Felicity was about to reach her climax when Oliver stopped to move them to the couch.

Before Felicity could say anything, they arrived at the couch, leaving her on top. She looked at him and realized she was going to set their pace. The blonde girl closed her eyes and started to move while moaning. Oliver grabbed her butt with both hands and followed her rhythm. Not able to hold themselves back, the two of them reached their climax.

The moment she recovered from her orgasm, she stood up and got her pants without saying anything. Felicity couldn’t even face him. She felt guilty and hated herself for letting it happen again. She wasn’t going to lie, she enjoyed it. A lot. That was exactly what bothered her. There were things that weren’t meant to happen and that one was one of them.

"You can't say that nothing happened now," Oliver said while copying her and putting his pants on. "What've just happened is-"

“Never going to happen again” was the only thing that came out of Felicity’s mouth while grabbing the rest of her stuff and leaving the apartment.

Oliver just sighed and let her go.

***

On her way home, despite what she said earlier, Felicity kept thinking about what happened. She was really mad at herself. How could she have lost control again? It couldn’t happen again. She was going to make sure of it. She needed to distract herself. She needed to find a way to forget all about it but she didn’t know how.

At that moment, she got a text from an unknown number.

**“I’m back in town. Do you think we can meet and talk?”**

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... that happened, AGAIN!!! what do you think?  
> Any kind of comment would be really appreciated, just don't be rude or disrespectful.  
> twitter: amiipond  
> tumblr: felicitysmoakq


	3. It's better this way

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, how was your week? hope you had a great one!!!  
> Thank you so much for all the comments, reviews are important to me, so, don't forget to leave one   
> thank you to Vivian for all her help and to my beautiful beta, Elley, you two are the best  
> HOPE YOU LIKE THIS EPISODE, ENJOOOY!!!!  
> I apologize in advance for any mistake.

**** It had been a week since the last time Felicity had seen Oliver. It had been a week since she had lost control of herself. Again. It had been a week since she had started asking herself the same question: why? There were millions of guys in the world, why did she sleep with Oliver? Why did her body react that way?

It seemed like the mere touch of their lips made her shiver and lose all control. 

That wasn’t the only thing that happened that week though. Something happened that made her consider her own feelings. It had nothing to do with Oliver, of course not. It had to do with someone from her past. 

Cooper. 

Cooper was back in town after being away for two years. The last time Felicity had heard something about him was when he had been expelled from MIT and had to finish his degree elsewhere. She had no idea where he went, she didn’t want to know. 

After two years, Cooper had sent her a text. She was shocked but a part of her always knew he was gonna contact her in one way or another.

_“I’m back in town. Do you think we can meet and talk?”_

Felicity wasn’t going to reply at first, but she really needed a distraction from what was happening to her and two years away from each other seemed like enough time. Was it the right thing? Probably not. 

**“Is that you, Cooper? It must be you, I don’t share my phone number with anyone and you are the only one I can think of who’s capable to get my number out of nowhere”.**

_“I meant to get in touch with you for a while but I didn’t know when the time would be right”._

**“And you think this is the right time?”**

_“I don’t know. I just felt like we could talk. I know that things between us didn’t work out because of what I did. I was an idiot then. You were really important to me, I would like for us to, at least, have a good relationship. No hard feelings”_

His words weren’t enough for Felicity to trust him. She wasn’t planning on going out with him again, not unless she felt she could believe in his words again. Because of that, she thought that exchanging texts wouldn’t hurt anyone. 

Iris was anything but happy when she found out about her friend texting his ex-boyfriend. The future journalist didn’t hesitate a second to remind Felicity how bad she felt because of what Cooper did to her and kept repeating how the MIT student deserved better. In response, Felicity asked Iris to trust her, that she knew what she was doing. 

***

“Who are you texting all the time?” Tommy asked Felicity while taking a sip of his beer. Like any other Thursday, the whole group of friends decided to meet at their usual bar, to hang out and talk about what had happened throughout the week and their plans for the weekend. 

Sara and Nyssa were talking about their weekend away, it was their anniversary and they had planned something special. They were all listening to them and asking for details except for Felicity, who was a bit absent. It looked like she was elsewhere, especially because she kept checking her phone, which was beeping quite a lot. 

“It’s just Cooper” Felicity replied after sending another text and leaving her phone aside. Their texts weren’t out of the ordinary: things related to computers, her classes, and his new job.

“Who’s Cooper?” Tommy asked. “Don’t tell me you have started dating someone but didn’t tell us anything. Now I feel betrayed!”

Felicity was about to reply at his teasing but Iris was faster. “It’s just her stupid ex-boyfriend” Her tone let them know how happy (not really) about the situation. “I still can’t believe that you are actually in texting terms with him”.

“Is it the same Cooper I’ve heard about?” Caitlin asked, showing her surprise. Iris just nodded. Before the soon-to-be doctor could add something, Felicity talked. 

“I’ve already been scolded by Iris, so you can save it. Besides, we are just texting to each other, it’s not like I got back together with him”. 

“Am I missing something?” Sara asked confused. “Did that guy do something to you or...?”

“Yeah, we need to know if we have to beat him up!” Tommy said while pretending to get his fists ready. 

“That won’t be necessary, Tommy” the blonde assured him. 

“I wouldn’t say that considering he cheated on you with some girl and is now trying to fix what happened,” Iris said. 

Oliver had been quiet during the whole conversation, but when he heard the last part he gulped and took his phone out of his pocket. He was pretending to talk to some friends, instead of paying attention to the details of Felicity’s former relationship. Truth to be told, he actually cared. More than what he dared to say. 

“So that happened, huh?” Sara said. “Sorry, Felicity, but I’m with Iris on this one, that dude sounds like an asshole, you shouldn’t waste your time talking to him”.

“All men are the same” Nyssa intervened. “That’s why you should date women like us. We don’t deal with those kinds of things, right?” The last part was partially directed to Sara, who leaned slightly and gave her a peck. 

“Let me get this straight” Tommy said with a serious expression. “You’re telling me that some douche cheated on you, and you are actually exchanging texts with him?” His tone showed how mad he was getting. Felicity wasn’t just his girlfriend’s best friend, but also a good friend, so hearing that she was talking to someone who hurt her didn’t seem right to him. 

“Guys like Cooper don’t change, Felicity,” Iris said while looking at her roommate. “They are only good at using and manipulating women to do whatever they say. 

You don’t actually know that, do you?” the MIT student said while trying to actually believe in her own words. She needed to believe in them no matter how stupid it sounded to her. 

“So you really think he had changed? Really?” Iris said. “Felicity, he slept with a countless girl while dating you. If he didn’t care back then, so he doesn’t care now. Don’t be that stupid”.

“Am I stupid now?” Felicity said angrily. She was dealing with so many things in her head that hearing that made her furious. “Why don’t you just let me do whatever I want?! I am not a kid! I can do whatever I feel like doing, you are not my mom! Don’t act like it!”

After that, everyone remained quiet. No one dared to say anything. Tommy felt like they all needed a break from all the tension around them, so he thought that maybe leaving the bar was a good idea. 

“How do you feel about going somewhere else?” he asked. “I’ve heard there’s a new bar two blocks from here, we could go and check it out, don’t you think?” When no one replied verbally, he turned to his best friend for help. “What do you think, buddy? Should we go?”

“I don’t care” was the only answer he got from Oliver. He was with his arms crossed trying to hide his left hand. Hearing what Felicity’s ex did to her made him furious. 

“Come one, man. Don’t be like that” Tommy replied. “Don’t make me beg when you aren’t someone who says no to a new bar, so help me out! We’ll have a great time for su-”

“I said I DON’T CARE!” Oliver shouted. Then he stood up and left without adding anything else, making everyone look at him with stunned expressions.

He didn’t realize at first, but hearing Felicity talk about her ex-boyfriend made him incredibly mad. After thinking about it briefly, he noticed that what he was feeling was a mix of jealousy and helplessness, which was something he didn’t understand He wanted to punch that Cooper guy. He wanted to punch him and tell Felicity that she deserved better than that cheating idiot. 

Not even five minutes after Oliver had left the table, Tommy stood up and kissed Iris’ cheek. His expression made it clear for everyone there where he was about to go. 

“Sorry guys,” Tommy said once he waved everyone goodbye.

***

Oliver Queen was walking by the street. His destination wasn’t his apartment though. He needed to clear his mind so he thought that maybe finding peace somewhere else would be the best. The idea of Felicity being in speaking (or rather texting) terms with that Cooper guy was something Oliver couldn’t stand. He wanted to get that idea out of his head but it didn’t seem like it was about to happen anytime soon. The more he kept trying, the more those thoughts remained. He knew that Felicity was someone who deserved better. If that semi-friendship they had at first taught him anything, it was that she was cool and nice (whenever she wasn’t trying to pick a fight with him), of course, she deserved better! 

There was something else he didn’t understand either. Why was the whole situation bothering him so much? There was a hint of jealousy behind his thoughts, he knew that. There was more than that though. 

Walking by a park, he decided to sit on a bench before going home . He knew there was a big chance that Tommy was in their apartment, ready to talk to him, but he wasn’t ready for that. Not before he knew for sure what was going on in his head. 

When he reached a bench and sat down, Oliver took a look at his surroundings. It wasn’t that late, so there were people walking by. Looking around and finding all those couples made him close his eyes and take a deep breath. He actually knew why it bothered so much to hear about Cooper. It wasn’t just that she had been paying too much attention to a guy who hurt her than him. It was because it made him realize that to some extension, he was like him. 

The business student hadn’t cheated on anyone because he had never really dated anyone, but he was really used to treat girls as he wanted. He had never committed to anyone or told them ‘I love you’, but he made them feel like they meant something to him, enough for them to fall for his antics. He had made empty promises and broken so many hearts. 

At that point, everything made sense. 

***

Felicity sat on the sofa without exchanging any word with her roommate. Iris was sitting there trying to work on her blog’s next article but wasn’t able to concentrate. She would stop after writing any sentence, but she forced herself to at least make it short. The MIT just took a look at her friend and understood that she wasn’t focused at all. Whenever it would happen Felicity would tease her about it or try to distract her to try later, but she kept herself from doing that. She was not in the mood to do so.

The blonde girl took the book she had been reading for days and continued where she left it. She tried, at least. None of the two women said a word. They had been like that since their night at the bar. Deep down, Felicity knew Iris was right: she shouldn’t even tell Cooper the time. Since the moment her father walked out of her life, it took forever for Felicity to trust anyone. When she started dating Cooper, she’d put her heart into it. She had shared her insecurities and fears with him, she had trusted him completely. But the only thing she got was a broken heart.

After being silent for ten minutes, Iris was the first one to open her mouth. 

“I don’t like being like this with you,” the future journalist said. Felicity took her eyes off the book she was pretending to read and looked at her roommate. Iris put her laptop away and got closer to Felicity. She waited for her to say anything, but when she didn’t even move, Iris took the book out of her hand and put it away too. She wanted Felicity to listen carefully to her words. “Could you listen to me, please?” she asked before the MIT student could react at the book being put away. “I know I shouldn’t interfere withyour relationships, but it’s just…” Iris looked her in the eyes and continued. “I’m just worried about you. I don’t want him to hurt you again. It nearly killed you emotionally, and I don’t want you to go through the same thing again”.

Felicity took a deep breath and closed her eyes. “I understand that you are worried, I get that and I appreciate it. I really do” she started. “The thing is... it’s not really your business. Don’t get me wrong, like I said I appreciate how much you care about my feelings and all that, but you should know by now that I’m not the same Felicity from some years ago. I’m not that fragile, I can take care of myself”.

“I know” Iris replied. “I know that. You are stronger now and you can deal with your problems on your own but I can’t help myself, I’m a worried friend”.

“There’s nothing to worry about, really. Truth is we aren’t really dating. I’m not even interested in us being together again, I’ve learned my lesson. He’s just…” Before adding what she had in mind, she deliberated with herself if it was a good idea. “He’s just a distraction”. 

At hearing that, Iris looked at her with a confused expression. “A distraction? A distraction from what?”

Felicity closed her eyes and took another deep breath. She wasn’t really ready to share the whole thing yet (she doubted if she would ever be ready) but Iris needed to know what had happened, she was her best friend. Nonetheless, she decided to keep some information to herself for the moment. 

“I’ve met someone… Well, I didn’t actually meet him, I knew him already, for a while now, but not like that. I didn’t think of him in that way, you know?”. 

“You met someone?” Iris said excitedly. She was keen on hearing more. “And who is it? Do I know him? I need details!” 

“I’m not really ready to talk about him …” Felicity replied. “When the time comes, I’ll let you know the whole story”.

“I don’t understand, that mysterious guy… did he do something to you?” the future journalist asked.

Felicity shook her head. “The whole situation is confusing to me” she explained. “Getting involved with him is not something I am proud of. It shouldn’t have happened in the first place, I know that but… I couldn’t help it. I couldn’t help it and there’s a little part of me that can’t stop thinking about it…”

“Okay, I respect that you don’t want to talk about it but… I need some information about this guy… Is he hot?” Iris said.

“Iris!” Felicity exclaimed. 

“What?” If you are not going to tell who it is, at least I need to know how he looks like” Tommy’s girlfriend replied. 

“He is incredibly hot, alright?” Felicity said before giving her friend the chance to ask more. “That’s it, though. I’m not telling you anything else. For the moment, I don’t want to talk about it. Not with you, not with anyone” she explained. “The thing is that between Cooper and I there’s nothing to worry about. I don’t trust him completely, but I do think that everyone deserves a second chance, don’t you think?”

“Okay, if that’s how you feel… I won’t say anything else” Iris said. I just don’t want you getting hurt again”.

“I appreciate your concern, thanks,” Felicity said. 

“That’s what friends are for, right?” Iris replied. 

The blonde girl smiled and gave her friend a hug. 

“I really don’t like when we argue like that,” she said. 

“Well, arguing from time to time is a part of being friends with anyone” Iris replied returning the hug. 

***

When Oliver arrived home, Tommy was reading an anatomy book on the couch. After staying in the park for a while, he walked around the area before going back to their apartment. He had been trying to reach a final conclusion to what he had been feeling and a way to solve his problems, but he hadn’t been able to do so. His life was a mess, he was a mess and the only conclusion he had reached was that he would never be good enough to anyone. 

Not only that, but Oliver had to deal with all the pressure his parents put on him. He had spent most part of his life hearing his father saying he was only bringing shame to the Queen family. He had always been trying his best, however, because the results weren’t as good as his parents expected, it was never enough. Whenever he had to attend one of his parents’ parties, he would spend his evening hearing about their friends’ sons and daughters, and how well they were doing. There were some occasions where they would also talk about how some of them were already engaged or, at least, in a serious relationship, which was even worse. Oliver was not ready to be like this with anyone, he didn’t feel like he had something to offer, so it was way easier for him to just have some one night stands. Most of the time, He would feel his parents’ pressure, so when it came to be with a girl, the pressure was the last thing he wanted to feel. He could have fun with any girl without the need of having to have a deep connection or having to know her completely, and when there were some signs that something was turning serious, he would just cut it out. It wasn’t the best situation, but he felt better that way. 

“So…” Tommy started. He closed what he was reading and put it aside. “What happened?” 

“Nothing happened” Oliver replied, leaving his keys on the table at the entrance and moving towards his room’s door. 

“Nothing happened, my ass” Tommy said. “We’ve known each other since we were kids… We both know that something happened, don’t try to deny it. Does it have anything to do with your parents?” 

Oliver had never been good at talking about his feelings, but his expression didn’t make it easy for him to hide how he was truly feeling. “Well… My parents are thinking of sending Thea to a boarding school”. Oliver took a seat on the other couch and looked at his friend. 

“Oh…” 

“Their reason behind it is that they don’t want her to end up like me… You know, LIKE ME. I have a big argument with them because of that. It’s unbelievable…”

It wasn’t a complete lie. Oliver had had an argument with his parents that day. It wasn’t the first time and wouldn’t be the last. His parents had told him what to study, where, which person he should hang out with, what to do with his life in the future… It had always been like that. Oliver loved his parents, they had always been next to him when things were bad, but sometimes he wished for them to respect his wishes too. Throughout his life, he would give in and do what they ask, but he had also put some limits. He would study what they wanted him to study, but that didn’t mean he was going to give it his best. He would meet all those snob pricks they wanted, but he wasn’t going to be the nicest people around. They didn’t like that, of course, but he wasn’t going to give up all his freedom. 

Their real arguments started when Oliver decided to study in Boston. On his high school years, he would pretty much do whatever he wanted and they had never said anything. They had thought that he would get more serious once he got into college, so it was okay for him to do whatever he wanted. However, that hadn’t been the case. Even when he enrolled into what they wanted him to do and went to their first choice of university, it hadn’t been enough for them. He kept on behaving as he did in high school but worse. The more his parents complained and scolded him for his behavior, the more he would go out and have fun. 

After being kicked out from different universities, he had decided to follow his best friend and study there. His parents were completely against the idea. They had thought that after all the money they had invested had been thrown away because of his actions, he should stay close and study at Starling City University. That way, they would be able to see what their son was doing. However, he had ended up enrolling in Boston University without his parents’ approval. 

After that, they wouldn’t accept anything he did. They had been paying for his tuition, but they weren’t happy about it. Even when he was finally finishing his courses, it wasn’t enough for them. They would ask for his grades to be better, for him to visit some of their friends, to prepare himself to work at the family’s company… He wouldn’t always tell he would try, but at the end, he didn’t comply. After trying so hard and seeing that it had been leading nowhere, Oliver’s parents had started to focus on his little sister Thea. It was even worse than the pressure they had put on him because they didn’t want her to follow his path. Oliver had been trying to protect his sister as much as he could but it had been more difficult since he left for Boston. 

As his best friend and roommate, Tommy was all aware of the whole situation Oliver had been dealing for years. He understood his friend’s point of view and tried to comfort him whenever Oliver seemed a bit down. He was aware that behind all the womanizer façade and the party lover attitude, Oliver had been dealing with a lot of pressure from his parents and was doing the best he could to avoid Thea from living that kind of life. Going all party-crazy as Oliver had been for years wasn’t the best way to deal with the whole thing, Tommy knew that, but he didn’t judge him either. Tommy had never dealt with something like that so he couldn’t imagine how it felt. The only thing he could do was try to cheer him up and listen to Oliver whenever he needed to. 

“That seems like a huge deal, wow” Tommy said.

“I can’t let them do it” Oliver said. “But… there’s nothing I can really do… After all these years, I’m still a failure to them. I mean, I know my grades aren’t the best, but I try. I didn’t try at first, I know that, but I did my best. I’m in my senior year, for God’s sake! Just because I go out doesn’t mean I’m lazy!”

“I know that, Oliver” the future doctor started. “I’m sorry to hear that”. 

“I do my best, they just can’t see that…” the business student replied. “I don’t really know what to do for them to see that, as much as I go out and party, I still try my best to make them proud…”

“You just have to keep trying, I’m sure that your efforts will pay off,” Tommy said. “I know they will”.

“Thanks, Tommy,” Oliver said. “I really hope so”.

“Was that all?” Iris’ boyfriend asked. When his best friend looked at him, he continued. “Most of the time, whenever we talk about your parents, everything seems okay and you invite me for a drink, but this time it doesn’t look like you are okay… Did something else happen?” 

Oliver kept looking at his roommate for a few seconds before leaning against the back of the couch. He then turned his gaze to the ceiling. 

“I don’t know…” he finally answered. 

“You don’t know?” Tommy asked confused. “How is it that you don’t know?”

Before replying, Oliver moved on his seat to get into a more comfortable position. “Well… There’s this girl…” 

“A GIRL?” Tommy said really surprised. He didn’t see that one coming. “I don’t get it, how is a girl giving you trouble? Wait, if a girl is giving you problems when you are not even dating anyone...” The pre-med student thought about it for a second before arriving to his own conclusion. “You didn’t knock her up, did you?” Before Oliver could say anything, Tommy continued. “For God’s sake, Oliver! There’s something called condoms, I thought you knew about that!”

“What? No!” Oliver said as soon as Tommy stopped rambling. “I haven’t got anyone pregnant! Stop talking nonsense!”

 

“Sorry” Tommy said, sighing in relief. “I came to the wrong conclusion and started to freak out for no reason before you even had the chance to explain it…”

“It’s okay, don’t worry” Oliver stated. Calming himself down, he was starting to wonder why his friend looked so bothered by his confidence. 

Oliver sighed. 

“So… There’s this girl I’ve been seeing recently…” Tommy was about to mention something but decided not to and let his friend continue. “At first, it was supposed to be a one-time thing, you know? In fact, it wasn’t supposed to be anything, I didn’t even plan it, but… It just happened”.

“So it happened, and more than just once, right?” Tommy said. Oliver just nodded.

“And even when it’s been weeks since the last time it happened, I can’t… I just can’t stop thinking about it, you know?” the business student explained. 

“You can’t stop thinking about it or about her?” the Merlyn son asked. 

“About it… about her… maybe both?” Oliver brushed his hair in frustration. “I just don’t know…”

“She must have been a good one” Tommy said. 

“It wasn’t just that” the business student replied. “Everything was different. With her, everything was different”. 

“Different how?” the future doctor asked. 

“I don’t know, it just was different” This time, the one talking nonsense was Oliver. “Everything is just really confusing to me…”

“Oliver Queen being confused by a girl…” Tommy said, suddenly serious. “Okay, be honest here: who are you and what have you done to my friend?”

“Idiot” Oliver just hit his friend in his arm and stood up to leave the room. 

“Hey!” His best friend replied, “Sorry, sorry! I couldn’t help myself”. The Queen son just rolled his eyes and sat down. “Okay, now let’s get serious. Who’s the girl? Do I know her?”

“No… you don’t know her” Oliver lied. He was fully aware it wasn’t the best idea for him to tell Tommy the name of the girl, but he wondered for a second what his friend’s reaction would be if he knew the girl was Felicity. Would Tommy say that she deserved better? Would he support him and encourage him to explore his feelings? Would he tell Iris? If Iris knew, she would kill him before letting Felicity be with someone like Oliver. Especially with what was happening with Cooper. Deep down, Oliver knew Tommy would be on his side, no matter what, but the insecurities he was feeling at that moment made him lie to his best friend. 

“What’s her name?” Tommy asked. 

“I’d rather keep that to myself, if you don’t mind… At least, for the moment” Oliver replied. 

“Look, I can’t really tell you what you’re feeling right now, as I am not you,” the pre-med student said. “But if what you’re feeling is a ‘good’ different, then I hope everything works out well for you”.

“I don’t think that’s going to happen,” the business student said. “She’s not even talking to me, so I’m pretty sure she thinks nothing of me”.

“Hey, don’t say those things” Tommy defended him. “Look, I don’t know who that girl is, but she must be really special for you to be like this-”

“She is” Oliver interrupted him briefly. 

“So... I’m pretty sure she might be able to see the amazing guy we both know you really are”. Tommy finished. When Oliver didn’t say anything, he continued. “If I were you, I’d try my best to understand my own feelings, you know? That would help you know how to handle the situation and how to proceed with that special girl”. 

“Again, I don’t think she’s interested in pursuing something with me… I mean, she’s not even talking to me, so I don’t think she’s interested” Oliver said. 

“I can’t really tell for sure, as I don’t really know the whole situation and don’t even know her name, but I think she must be at least a bit interested. I mean, if you had slept together more than once, then it seems there’s something she liked about you. However, she might be a bit scared”. Tommy said. His best friend looked at him, confused. “Well, sorry to burst your bubble, but your reputation with women precedes you. Maybe, to have something with her, you should show her that you are more than just a guy who has hook-ups”. 

“I don’t know, man…” Oliver said. “There’s so much going on, I don’t think that’s a good idea…” He stood up, ready to leave the room. “The best thing I can do is forget what happened and all these weird feelings. It’s not like it’s going to happen ever again”.

Tommy looked at his roommate, not really believing his words. By his own experience, all those weird feelings aren’t that easy to forget. 

“If that’s okay with you, then… There’s nothing I can really add. But…” the future doctor said. “I don’t think you should let go that easily. I mean, it’s obvious it meant something to you, I wouldn’t give up like that”. 

“It’s not giving up when there’s nothing between us” Oliver stated while walking away to his room.

“If you really think things are better this way, then it’s okay to me,” the Harvard student said, standing up. “I just wouldn’t like you to give up on something that might be special to you and regret it later”.

Oliver stopped for a second to think about his friend’s words. He didn’t want to keep talking about his ‘love life’ anymore, so he started to walk again and got into his room. When he sat on his bed, he started to consider Tommy’s words. Maybe he was right. Maybe he had to show her he was more than what he let people think of him. That he was more than what his own parents thought of him. 

Being the first time he had ever felt like that, Oliver was totally confused. Confused and scared.He was scared to see if things would end up worse than how they were in that moment. 

***

When the next weekend came by, Oliver had already decided that he would forget all about what happened. It wasn’t going to be an easy task as Felicity and he shared the same group of friends, so whenever they all decided to meet and have a beer, Oliver would make up an excuse, like he needed to focus on his lessons and all (which was actually true). And it worked. Except for Tommy, he hadn’t seen anyone of his friends, no matter how much they insisted.

After a whole week studying like crazy, Oliver decided he needed a break. So when the evening arrived, he got dressed and went to a party that someone he knew was organizing in one of his favorite clubs, ‘Arrow’. Even when he was studying, he still had Felicity in his thoughts, so Oliver wondered if interacting with different people would help him forget the nights he spent with her. That was how he met Sally. Or Sheila… Or was it Shelly? He knew it was something with an S at the beginning, but he didn’t even care to remember the whole thing. The S girl kept talking and it seemed like she didn’t even pause to breath. Oliver tried to catch some of her words but wasn’t able to do so completely. She said she was studying to get a Literature degree that her favorite color was yellow and liked drawing. That was all he was able to get. The S girl was telling him about the different kind of techniques that she would use in her projects, even when he told her he knew nothing about it, and he was trying to look somehow interested. 

Until Oliver turned to look at the door for a second and saw her. The moment he noticed Felicity’s presence, he couldn’t help but ignore the girl in front of him and focus on the one that had just entered the building. Felicity’s blonde hair was falling down her shoulders… and she was wearing a black tight dress and a pair of black heels that made her legs look even more defined than usual. Her whole figure made Oliver bit his lip and shake his head to try to ignore her presence. 

Oliver tried to pay attention to what the S girl was saying, but failed miserably, as he couldn’t help but follow the blonde girl with his eyes. It looked like she was looking for someone. When the MIT student reached the bar, she was stopped by a tall guy who started talking to her in a friendly manner. Was that Cooper? Was that another guys bothering her? Oliver tried one more time to ignore what Felicity was doing and focus on the talking about how perspective is important in drawing. What Felicity was doing was not his business, so he had no right to say anything, but seeing her giving that guy one of her famous smiles was killing him. Why was he feeling that way? Even when she had made really clear that she wanted nothing with him or that she didn’t even think of him in any way, Oliver was doing his best to get her out of his mind. 

After a few minutes, Oliver couldn’t handle it anymore.

“I’m sorry, S… you” Oliver started to say to the girl in front of him. All his efforts didn’t work, so he decided to do what his body was telling him. “There’s someone who needs my help”.

The girl in front of him stopped talking and looked at him, confused. When said girl stood up to leave, she looked somehow annoyed, but Oliver didn’t really care. The only thing in his mind was approaching Felicity. He started to move toward her, but. Right before he actually reached Felicity’s location, he saw her laugh at what the guy next to her was saying, making him doubt for a few seconds.Should he actually talk to her? In the end, the pull was too strong and he decided to just do it.

“Hey Felicity,” Oliver said as soon as he was next to her. When she looked at him, it almost looked like she couldn’t believe what was happening in front of her. Before she could say something, the business student looked at the guy in front of her. “Sorry, but I have to steal the lady for a few minutes, there’s something we have to talk about”.

“Sure dude,” the unknown guy said. “See you later, Felicity”

When she waved his friend goodbye and watched him go, Oliver knew she was going to be mad. He turned to look at her and waited for her reaction. 

“What the hell was that?” Felicity asked when her friend was out of sight. 

“It looked like that guy was bothering you, so I thought you could use some help” Tommy’s roommate replied. 

“That ‘guy’ is one of my classmates who just happen to be here waiting for his boyfriend so the whole protector thing was totally unneeded,” the blonde girl said.

Oliver didn’t know what to say. He was ashamed and overwhelmed by his own feelings. Why was he taking those decisions out of nowhere?

When Oliver didn’t reply in any way, Felicity turned around and started to move. Not ready to let her go, Oliver grabbed her arm to stop her. But before any word could leave his mouth, Felicity’s phone rang. She took it and read something on its screen, letting a laugh escape. 

“Is that you famous ex?” Oliver asked. He wasn’t really sure why he asked in the first place, or if he wanted an answer. When he saw that smile on her face after just one text, it made him kind of mad, because he would never be able to do so. 

“It’s none of your business!” Felicity said, louder than what she intended. “Now, if you don’t mind, I was planning on meeting Iris, so-”

“IT IS MY BUSINESS!” His voice was even louder than the one she used, making people around a turn to look at them for a few seconds before going back to their own conversations. 

“What are you talking about?” the MIT student asked with a confused expression in her face. 

Oliver didn’t know how to reply. There were so many things on his mind it was impossible for him to just mention one. He couldn’t give her a proper answer because he didn’t really know it either. What he knew was that he cared about her. He cared a lot, he just didn’t understand how. At that point, he thought there was nothing he could say, so he let go of her arm and started to walk towards the exit. 

When Oliver finally got to his car, he felt a hand on his shoulder that made him turn around. 

“You can’t just tell me something like that and leave with giving me a proper answer,” Felicity said. “You can’t just do that! Now you have to give me an explanation”.

“I don’t know” was the only thing Oliver could say before turning around and walking away again. 

“How is it possible that you don’t know?” Felicity said, not moving from where she was and watching him leave. “You can’t just know!”

This time, Oliver did turn around, frustrated.

“I JUST DON’T KNOW, OKAY?” he shouted. 

Their eyes locking together, they stood there in silence, none of them knowing what to say. It felt unnecessary, though, as it was like their eyes were saying everything that needed to be said. With their eyes. 

Their gazes finally softened and Oliver couldn’t help but get closer to her. When he was close enough, he raised one of his hands to stroke her cheek. That movement made Felicity close her eyes and lean a little bit to accept his touch. At that point, it seemed like the world around them disappeared: there was no one else besides them. Oliver slowly got even closer to her. 

When his lips rubbed against hers, he was able to feel her breathing pattern and how her body seemed to tremble just by that simple gesture. Oliver wasn’t really sure if kissing her was a good idea, but he wasn’t able to stop himself from doing it. As he had already noticed, he wasn’t able to resist the temptation of having her close. When Oliver kissed her, it was soft and slow, just like if he was trying his best to memorize the shape of her lips. 

At the beginning, Felicity wasn’t able to move but, after a few seconds, she returned the kiss and put one of her arms around his neck to push him closer and deepen their kiss. Oliver also tried to get her closer so he used his free hand and moved his arm to her waist to hold her close. 

The closer they were to each other, the deeper their kiss became. Soon enough, their tongues found each other and started to dance as if they were celebrating that moment. That kiss wasn’t soft anymore and Oliver noticed it when he heard Felicity moan. After that, they continued for a few more seconds but then separated and pressed their forehead together without opening their eyes. The two of them knew that if one of them opened their eyes, they would have to talk about it and they weren’t ready for it. They didn’t know what to say. 

Felicity was the first one to break their connection. She started to let go of their embrace and put some distance between them. Oliver looked at her but didn’t say a word. 

“This was a mistake,” the blonde girl said. “It was a mistake back then and it’s a mistake now. It shouldn’t have happened”. 

When he heard her words, Oliver looked away. Those words made him feel like his heart was breaking in thousands of pieces. 

“I shouldn’t have come” she continued.

“Why did you come?” He asked, his eyes focusing on anything but her. 

“Iris made me” Felicity answered. “She made and I don’t know where she is now…” She looked at his face for a second before looking away too. “I think I’ll just go-”

“Wait” Oliver interrupted her. “I think we should talk about this”.

“There’s nothing for us to talk about” she explained. “My body is just attracted to yours for some bizarre reason… Well, not that bizarre, I mean, look at you, it’s obvious that-” before she could say something she would later regret, she stopped herself. She took a deep breath and continued. “This shouldn’t happen again.” Oliver didn’t have the chance to say anything. “Please, stop going after me” Felicity started walking back towards the opposite direction. “It’s better this way”.

“But-” Oliver tried to say when she turned around.

“It’s better this way” And with that, she left. 

***

Felicity hated the way he made her feel. She hated how bad she was feeling for leaving things that way, but she knew that it was the best thing to do. They should end things, even when there was actually nothing to end. Her mind was telling her it was okay, but a little voice inside her head seemed to tell her otherwise. Felicity didn’t want to listen to that voice. She and Oliver weren’t supposed to have anything going on between them, no matter how much her body reacted to his own. 

It was better that way.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> well, that was a sad ending, felicity mind is a mess right now...  
> Don't forget to write a review + kudos and share it if you want, that would be nice,  
> I don't know when I'm gonna post chapter 4 because we haven't finished the translation, it's a hard work, hope you understand. I'll post it as soon as I can.   
> Thank you for reading!  
> twitter: amiipond  
> tumblr: felicitysmoakq


	4. Show me

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, how are you? Happy new year to everyone, I really hope your holidays had been amazing. I'm really sorry for the long wait, I know I haven't posted in a long time but I was really busy studying and my friend Vivian, who always helps me, was busy too... so I hadn't the chapter ready to post. Hope you understand and of course... I really hope you haven't forgotten about this story.  
> Thank you so much for all your good comments and kudos they mean a lot to me.  
> Special thank you to my beta, Elley, thank you so much for her patient and for being always a sweetheart and a wonderful person. And thank you to my friend, Vivian, her help means a lot to me.  
> Comments and kudos will be appreciated! (sorry in advance for any mistake) HAPPY READING!!!

 

               

Felicity tightened her ponytail and ran to get her purse.  It was really unusual to her but she was late to class... She'd stayed the whole night texting with Cooper, and it was hard to wake up this morning. Although those texts weren't suggestive at all, it was obvious they were flirting a little bit. She had no intentions to get back with him, but she had met him a couple of times, as friends. No matter how she felt about it, it was pretty clear that Cooper had changed a little bit: he would listen to what she was saying and talk less about himself. She still remembered that back when they were still together, he would always do the opposite and use any excuse for them to have sex.

It didn't really matter to Felicity. She was pretty sure that, even if Cooper had changed, she wouldn't be able to date him again. The only thing she was looking out of this exchange was a distraction of her situation with Oliver. Speaking of him, it had been two weeks, or probably more, since their kiss. It had been two weeks since she had confessed her attraction. Even if they hadn't seen each other, Felicity had kept thinking about him and their moments together. She had been trying to put those thoughts aside and get herself busy, but it had been proved to be a hard task.

Late to her class, although it wasn’t totally her fault the bus arrived late too, Felicity sat down in the first seat available.

Her class finished, Felicity looked for Alena. Due to their really tight schedules, the two of them hadn't been able to talk as much as they wanted to. Although she loved the friends she found in Iris and the crew, some things could only be shared with Alena. It wasn't like Felicity couldn't talk about all her passions with the others, but Alena was one of the only people who could understand her completely, whenever she talks about computers, software or her Doctor Who fanaticism. Some days she just needed a break and talk about how the 10th doctor was the best one ever, and that day was just one of them.

***

It was later the same day, and Felicity was once again texting with Cooper. After speaking for a while, he had proposed they meet to eat something together. And while she had agreed without thinking too much about it at first, Felicity had to remind herself she had to be careful with him. She had learned a lot about him during those last weeks, especially about the past 3 years. He was working with a company in Houston, while finishing his degree online (he had been expelled from MIT when he tried to steal some exams and got caught), and seemed like he wanted to settle down. He had also told her he hadn't had a girlfriend since they broke up. Cooper had told her that it didn't feel right to date someone after what he had done to her and he wanted to be a better person. Even if there was a chance for all of it to be fake, Felicity couldn't help but give him the benefit of the doubt. But when Cooper called and started to suggest different places, Felicity had to remind herself that they had just started talking to each other again. And after what happened between them, she was still a little suspicious about him√

“So it’s settled! Just don’t forget that our date it’s at 8, not at 9, okay?” Copper said. “I won’t be done with work until then, so...”

“Our date? I thought we were just having a nice dinner…” Felicity asked confused. She wasn’t really planning on it to be an actual date, she was not keen on making the same mistake already.

“Well, yeah?” He replied. “I know it’s a bit sudden, but after talking to you for the last weeks and all the years we had been separated, I realized there’s no one else for me, Felicity. I want to take you out on a date and be able to show how much I care about you, how much I’ve changed. I'm not the same guy who cheated on you. I really changed, Felicity, I promise.”

By the sound of his voice, it really looked like he was hoping for her to say yes.

“Cooper, listen…” the MIT student started to say. “I don’t think that’s a good idea. What we had was a really bad experience for me. There is nothing to save there. I’m okay with the two of us going out to dinner, but I don’t think we should be together again”.

“I’m sorry to disagree with you” he replied. “I feel like we should try again, for that exact reason... I really want to show you how different I am now. I want to do things right this time".

There was a part of her that felt like she shouldn’t believe in his words. Felicity was aware that going on a date with him was a really bad idea. However, there was also another part of her that wanted to see if he had really changed. That same part of her wanted to see if she actually meant something to Cooper. She wanted to see if he felt something for her. Maybe he could help her forget about what happened with Oliver.

“I still think it’s not a good idea…” she tried to retort. “I mean, we-”

“Let me show you that it is” Cooper interrupted. “It’s just one dinner. I’m not asking for something more. It doesn’t really have to mean anything, I promise”.

“Just one dinner?” Felicity finally asked.

“Yes, just one” he answered.

“Okay then. Just one dinner” she agreed, some doubt still in her voice. She wasn’t really sure it was a good idea. Accepting a date with Cooper was like venturing into the lion's den. But, even if she was aware of that fact, she decided it was worth a try.

***

“Can I ask you something?” Iris asked her roommate from the door of her room. Felicity looked up,  waiting for her to continue while Iris walked in. “Tommy and I have made plans to celebrate our anniversary and before you say something… Yes, the real one was a couple of weeks ago, but what we’re celebrating is the anniversary of the first time we ever said ‘I love you' so… I would like to prepare a special dinner. I was wondering if we could have the house to ourselves tonight…"

“Oh, sure… There’s no problem. I’m going out with Cooper tonight, so I’ll be back pretty late… I mean, we have a lot to talk about.”

“Awesome! Then-” Iris was about to mention something about the outfit she decided to wear when Felicity’s words soaked in. “Wait, did you just say you are going out with Cooper? You’re kidding, right?” When the future journalist looked at her friend’s face, she couldn’t believe it. “What are you thinking? That’s an awful idea!”

Felicity was more than aware that Iris wasn't going to take her plan pretty well. She was her best friend and cared a lot about her, so it didn't surprise her how worried she seemed. Iris was one of those friends who would always tell you her piece of mind, even if you didn't want to hear it.

Iris hated Cooper. She would never believe a word that came out of his mouth. She thought that he was just trying to playing with Felicity’s emotions and trick her again.

“It’s just one dinner, Iris” Felicity said. “There’s nothing to worry about”.

“That’s the problem. I’m pretty sure it’s not just “one dinner” to him. It’s his excuse to take you to bed” Iris replied.

“And what if I want that to happen?” Felicity said. When she realized the meaning of her own words, she tried to fix it. “I didn’t really mean it! It was just a hypothesis. It’s not like I have thought about it…”

“Are you really telling me you want to sleep with him?” Iris asked, incredulous. “Please, Felicity, tell me you’re joking!”

“Wait, what?” Felicity replied, stunned it was the only thing her friend got out of everything she said. “That’s not what I meant by saying that! What I was trying to imply was that, if there was even a slight chance for me to want it, would it actually be a big deal? I’m an adult, if I decide to go for it, I’ll do it! Sorry, but that doesn’t depend on you, it's just up to me!"

“I understand that!” Iris replied, raising her voice a little too much. “I know you are the one to make your own decisions, it’s not my call and I know that!” She took a deep breath to calm herself down and then continued. “It wouldn’t be your smartest decision if you ask me, but it’s all up to you… Sorry”.

“If it makes you feel better, it’s not like I’m going to sleep with him or anything. When he suggested the idea, I wasn’t really sure I should accept or not, but… At the end of the day, I feel like I owe it to myself, you know?" Before Iris had the chance to open her mouth again, the MIT student continued. "Not in the way that I own myself to be with him, but in the way that I need to figure it out  on my own, you know?”

“Figure out what? What do you mean?” the almost journalist asked, confused.

"I need to figure out if what he's been telling is true. Or if I still have some feelings for him or for…" Felicity stops talking after realizing it wasn't the best idea to finish that sentence. She didn't want to mention that ‘other boy' to Iris again, in case she kept bugging her about it. She had been trying her best to forget all about him and what happened between them, but she didn’t know why it seemed to come to her mind repeatedly.

“For… what? What were you going to say?” Iris asked, curious. Felicity pretended not to hear her and walked towards her wardrobe. She started to look at her dresses and took a pair of them to show her roommate. When she asked her opinion about them, Iris stopped her. “Hey, don’t even try to change the subject. I’d like to know what you were talking about”.

Felicity kept trying not to show too many emotions while leaving one of the dresses she had in her hands on her bed and putting the other one in her closet.

"It's nothing, really," the MIT student said after closing her closet’s door. “You didn’t say anything so I’m going for that one… what do you think?”

“I like it, you’ll look nice” Iris replied. “But don’t try to change the subject… there’s something in your mind and you don’t want to tell me… Why?”

Seeing that her strategies weren’t working, Felicity decided to open up a little bit. She also needed to let those feelings out some way, she would go crazy otherwise.

“Look, I just have to forget about the guy I mentioned before.” the blonde girl explained. “It’s driving me crazy! I need to get him out of my head and erase all the evidence of the time I lost control of myself. No matter if we’ve hooked up, what I need is-” Felicity was starting to babble when she was stopped by her friend.

“Wait a minute” Iris interrupted her. “You slept with him?” When Felicity didn’t reply and started to look anywhere but her face, Iris continued. “I didn’t know that! I mean, I knew something happened, you’ve just said so, but I didn’t know that the two of you had sex! That’s new!”

At first, Iris was trying to easing up the tension by teasing her a little bit, but when she noticed her friend's expression, she realized that maybe it wasn't the best idea: Felicity looked down and finally sat on her bed. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you or make fun of you… I don’t really know what happened or how it happened, but… I don’t really understand. Why does it affect you this much? What are you running away from?”

Felicity raised her head. “I’m not running away” she finally said. Before her roommate had the chance to ask again, Felicity stood up and picked up her dress. “I don’t care what you think, I’m not running away from anything. Everyone makes mistakes, that happens to be one of mine”.

Felicity grabbed her cosmetic bag and moved across her room to get all the things she needed to get ready. She tried her best to ignore her friend’s gaze on her.

“Felicity”, Iris started to say. “I just want to help you… If you don’t tell-”

“I don’t wanna talk about it” Felicity interrupted her. “I know you want to help me and I appreciate it, you know I do, but this is something I’d rather put aside”. 

"I understand that and… I won't try anymore until you think it's okay for me to know, but…" Iris stopped for a second, thinking about how she could phrase what she had on her mind. “It’s just that I don’t understand how that guy can be so bad you feel the need to go on a date with an idiot like Cooper” Felicity stopped walking and looked at her friend. “I won’t pressure you anymore, but if you really feel that confused, I think at some point you’ll have to talk about the whole thing…”

“I know that, but right now… It’s just not the right time” Felicity said.

“I just hope you’re not going to regret it later… I mean, a date with Cooper? I think that’s the worst idea you could come up with, but-” Iris stopped a second before continuing. “But if you think that it’s something you should do… I’ll support you. I’m still concerned, but I’ll support you. You know the only thing I want for you to be happy. I don’t want you getting hurt again…”

"I'll be fine, don't worry," Felicity said with a smile in her face.

Iris just nodded and walked to the door. When she reached the knob, she stopped and looked at her friend one more time. “I know I don’t have a  say in this but… about that mysterious guy… I think you should try to figure out what’s going on instead of avoiding it… It’s more than clear that he’s still on  your mind…”

Felicity didn’t say anything. She knew Iris was right. She should try to clarify whatever was going on between Oliver and her, but... she didn’t feel ready for it. If she talked about it with him, it would prove that there was something going on and she didn’t know if she could face it yet. It may have been just physical attraction (she couldn’t deny she somehow was attracted to his body) or maybe it was just their chemistry.

No matter what it was, she couldn’t let that affect her or happen again. She didn’t want to become another girl in Oliver’s list of conquests. Events had proven to her she couldn’t trust him, not as a friend and not as something else. The fact that they’ve slept together hadn’t changed that. Maybe it had made it even worse. She didn’t want to do anything that could boost his ego. Especially when they had a chance to talk and he decided to laugh at her. She didn't want that to happen. It wasn't like she wanted to start a relationship with him or anything, however, she wasn't sure if she could go through all that trouble. 

Oliver wasn’t someone to commit to anyone and she wasn’t someone to have sex with anyone if they didn’t have something going on at least… Their chances of talking and reaching a conclusion satisfying enough for the two of them were… pretty low. Was it worth it? Was she willing to become one of the girls in Oliver’s long list of ‘girlfriends’?

Plus, Felicity didn’t know what to tell Oliver. She had to be careful with the words she would choose because she didn't want him to use them against her and trick her as he would do with any other girl. She had heard those words coming out of Oliver's mouth before, there weren't meant for her, but she heard them. There was no point on talking to him when he would use those very same sentences with her.

She had all those things clear in her head but… That didn’t stop her from thinking about the feeling of his hands touching her body. Or how good he made her feel… Why couldn’t she just ignore all that? Why couldn’t she just stop thinking about it? Why was she feeling that way when it was more than probable that it meant nothing to him?

***

Felicity was already sitting at their table when Cooper finally arrived at the restaurant. Even if he just arrived five minutes later than her, it still felt like she had been waiting for hours. She was nervous. It had been a long time since the last time she saw Cooper and that time wasn't exactly a good one (she ended up crying for days until she realized that he wasn't worth it). 

“Sorry, there was a lot of traffic” Cooper tried to justify his delay which, as she still remembered, was really common when they were together.

"It's okay, I just got here," she said.

Before sitting on his own chair, Cooper approached her to kiss her cheek.

"You look amazing," he said while sitting down in front of her. Cooper then picked up the menu one of the waiters had left on their table.

“Thank you” Felicity replied. She had never been good at receiving compliments. It wasn’t like she didn’t appreciate them, she just didn’t feel comfortable whenever someone would do so. Even if the two of them used to date, she still felt a bit embarrassed whenever Cooper complimented her.

Not even ten minutes later, a waiter approached them “Are you ready to order?” he asked them.

“Not really, ” Felicity replied, ready to ask for a few more minutes.

"Yes, we are," Cooper said at the same time.

"You can take your time," the waiter said. “I can come back later”.

"No, it's okay, we can order now," Felicity said. She tried to let it go the fact that Cooper had interrupted her. She wasn’t really hungry so it didn’t really matter what she chose. “I’ll get a house salad”.

Once Cooper ordered his dish, the waiter left the two of them alone.

"Thanks for accepting my invitation," Cooper said to break the ice. After the waiter left, none of them had said anything else until that moment.

“Even if I am here, I still think it’s a bad idea” Felicity replied after taking a sip of her water.

“I know things between us didn’t end up well, and I am partly to blame, but that’s why I think it’s not okay to not do anything to fix it" her ex-boyfriend started to say. "Especially if we think about all those things we went through together…"

“You are partly to blame?” Felicity stated. Her tone was obvious, though: it wasn’t really a question.

“Well, what I mean is… I know that it was my fault everything ended the way it did” He explained himself. “I was an idiot”. Felicity was able to notice there was a hint of honesty in his words, but she wasn’t sure what to think (he had always been an expert in giving excuses).

“Well, then, that’s something we can agree on” the MIT student replied. “I didn’t want things to end the way it did either”.

Cooper took that moment to touch her hand and make eye contact with her.

“I know…” he started to say while stroking her hand gently. “And that’s why we are here tonight. I want us to talk about it and… I don’t know, try to make things work this time. We could be together again and it would be better than last time”.

Felicity used that moment to get her hand away from his and think carefully about what to reply. He had always had that effect on her and, in that specific occasion, she needed to focus.

"It's not going to happen," Felicity said. "I mean… Yes, we could talk about it and reach some conclusions, but right now I’m not interested in a relationship”.

Cooper looked at her, processing her words. Then he smiled.

“Okay, I get it” he started to say. “We’ll be just friends then”.

“Things are not that simple, you know?” the blonde girl said. “Let’s talk first and then we’ll see. Although… you should know that words aren’t enough” When he looked at her with a confused expression, Felicity explained herself. “It doesn’t really matter how much we talk about things… I won’t know if it’s worthy unless I see it with my own eyes”.

“Yeah, you’re right…" he said. "I'm getting ahead of myself. I know it's going to be difficult to gain the trust you had in me back, but… I’ve just really missed you”

Felicity was about to answer when her phone rang. She ignored it at first, but when it kept ringing, she reached her phone.

“I’m sorry, it looks like I have to take it” she excused herself. When Cooper nodded at her, Felicity stood up and went to the bathroom. "Hello?"

_“Felicity?”_ the voice of a girl asked... _“It’s me, Amy! I’m sorry, I know it’s late and you probably have other plans but… I really need your help!”_ Amy was one of the girls Felicity tutored. She was a freshman in the department of Computer Science and, even if she was smart, she had troubles with some of her subjects. That was one of the reasons why Felicity was tutoring her (well, that and the extra money)

“Amy… You know I’d love to help you but I can’t do that at the moment… I’m sorry” Felicity replied.

"NO," said the freshman girl, a hint of disappointment in her voice. “ _I have to hand this project in on Monday and I have no idea how to finish it! I know we both mentioned all those parts I had to focus more on, but I lost all my notes and I’m going crazy!_ ”

“If it’s for Monday, then why don’t we finish it tomorrow?” Felicity asked. “It shouldn’t take too long, should it?”

“ _I can’t do it tomorrow… It has to be finished tonight!_ " When Felicity was about to ask why Amy continued. " _You see… My boyfriend is coming here to visit me and… Well, you know… We want to spend some time together… you probably didn’t want to know that, but please! I’ll pay you twice the usual price, I just need to get this over with… I can’t fail this subject, please!_ ”

Felicity started to feel bad… She didn’t want Amy to fail because she wasn’t able to help her… Especially if her reason was Cooper. She could always meet with him another day.

“Are you at your house?” Felicity asked.

“ _Yeah…_ ” Amy answered.

“Okay… I’ll be there in half an hour, more or less” the blonde girl said.

“REALLY?” Amy asked, yelling through the phone. “OH MY GOD! THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!”

Felicity hung up and walked back to the table where Cooper was waiting. He was already enjoying the steak he had ordered.

“Is everything okay?” Cooper asked while cutting a piece of the steak.

“Well, yeah, but…” Felicity started to say before sitting on her chair and looking at her salad. “I’ve got to go.” She looked at Cooper’s confused expression. “You see… there’s this girl I tutor who really needs my help at this moment… I just can’t tell her no. I mean it’s some extra cash, which is always welcome, and I’d feel really bad if she ends up failing because of me, so…”

“Are you serious?” Cooper asked, leaving his silverware over the table, wiping his mouth with his napkin.

“I’m sorry…” Felicity replied. She took her purse and stood up. “We’ll talk later, okay?”

She didn’t wait for his answer and just walked towards the exit. Once she was outside, she started to look for a taxi.

But before finding one, she got another call from Amy. “Amy, don’t panic! I’m already on my way there!” the senior student replied in a hurry...

“ _I’m so sorry, Felicity. I’m actually calling you because of that…_ ” Amy started to explain. “ _There's no need for you to come… You see, I've just found my notes in one of my USB drives and also downloaded some files that I've seen online that seem to be useful so… I think I can handle it on my own_ ”

“Are you sure?” Felicity asked.

“Yeah… It’s going to take some time for me to finish it because there’s a lot of things to read but I think I can do it. Thanks so much for everything and I hope I didn’t cause you a lot of trouble…”

“Oh, well… You know you can ask for my help whenever you need to, don’t worry about it” she replied.

“ _Thanks, Felicity! I’ll text you if I have any doubt but, again, I think I have everything under control. Thanks to you, I’ve learned new techniques to read quicker so… I’ll be okay. I hope you have a great night and I apologize again_ ” Amy said.

When their conversation ended, Felicity put her phone in her purse again. Maybe she could go back, eat her salad and finish whatever she was doing with Cooper. She didn’t see him leaving, so she knew he was still here, probably eating his meal.

She was ready to apologize again and keep talking to Cooper, maybe go on a walk with him and decide what should happen next. However, she wasn’t ready to handle what was happening right in front of her eyes.

Cooper was still sitting at the table they were sharing before but, unlike she had previously thought, he wasn't alone. There was a girl sitting on the chair Felicity had been using until a minute ago. At first, it didn't seem like a big deal, but the more she looked at them, the more uncomfortable she got. It didn't look like they were two people who knew each other and just happened to meet in the restaurant. It looks like more than that. They were flirting.

Felicity suddenly realized all their talks, all his words, his apologies, were fake. She realized the only thing Cooper wanted from her was to use her like he once did.

Felicity pulled herself together and walked towards their table. Cooper was really busy flirting with the girl in front of him, so he didn’t notice Felicity approaching them.

“I see t you’re having a great time without me," Felicity said, as calmly as possible.

“Fe- Felicity! Uhm… I can explain!” Cooper said, surprised. “We were just talking! It doesn’t  mean anything!” His nervous tone and his meaningless explanation confirmed he wasn’t being honest.

“It means nothing?” the unknown girl said. “I thought the two of us connected but I guess I was wrong!” she said, leaving the table angrily...

"Wait… A-Allison!" Cooper said, standing up... The girl turned around,  angrier than before.

“My name is Alice!” she said, before sitting down and being questioned by her friends who had just seen the last part of it. 

Felicity stood in the same place, then took a deep breath and let her emotions out.

"You know, for a moment, you convinced me that you had really changed. That you really wanted to fix what happened long ago but I guess I was wrong" the blonde girl kept saying without moving an inch. "I gotta thank you though. Tonight you've just shown me that you're still the same asshole that I knew back when we first dated. Goodnight, Cooper" She didn't let him the time to reply and turned around to leave the building. She knew there was no point in hearing his lousy excuses and the lies he might say in order to manipulate her. She wasn’t the same little girl he once hurt. She was way stronger than that.

When Felicity left the restaurant, she didn’t really know where to go. Iris was having a date night with Tommy and she didn’t want to interrupt them. Ronnie and Caitlin were out of town, so the blonde girl couldn’t really call them. Sara and Nyssa weren’t answering their phones so Felicity didn’t want to be in their way. She then called Alena but she also seemed busy.

“I’d really like to help you and talk about it, but I’m a bit busy at the moment. Would it be okay if we talk about it tomorrow?” Alena said after greeting Felicity.

“It wasn’t really that important, so yeah, we can talk tomorrow” Felicity replied before saying goodbye. She didn’t know what to do. All of her friends were busy. It was Saturday night, they obviously had plans. Felicity started to walk around and ended up sitting on a bench in a park nearby. She had so many things in her mind... How stupid she felt for believing in Cooper again, for falling for those lies. She tried to use whatever she might have been having with Cooper to forget what happened with Oliver, yet she had to deal with something she wasn’t ready either.

After a few minutes, she took her phone out of her purse and unlocked it. She tried once more to reach Nyssa or Sara, but none of them picked it up. She opened her contact list and started to scroll down. She wasn’t looking for any specific name but she found one that made her stop.

Oliver.

Calling him wasn't an option. Chances were that he was with some random girl and Felicity had too much dignity to even try.

For a while, the MIT student kept looking at her phone’s screen. Without being completely aware of what she was doing, Felicity pressed the call button.

"Shoot," the girl said as soon as she realized what was happening. Not even 5 seconds later, she ended the called hoping it didn’t ring on Oliver’s side. 

The moment her phone’s screen went black, Felicity took a deep breath. She needed it, her tension was skyrocketing with all the events that occurred that night.  But she didn’t have time to relax and process what had just happened because her phone started to ring, flashing Oliver’s name.

“No, no…” Felicity started to mumble nervously. “That wasn’t meant to happen”.

There were moments in her life that she hated how clumsy she could be. That was one of those moments.

Answering the phone was the best she could do.  and she accepted the call.

“ _Hey_ ," Oliver said in a soft tone.

“Hey” Felicity replied, trying her best not to sound as nervous as she actually was. She failed.

“ _I was watching TV when I noticed my phone was ringing_ ” Oliver started to explain. “ _Not to sound rude, but I had to check it twice to make sure it was you who were calling…_ " When the girl didn't say anything to his lame attempt of a joke, he asked directly. " _Is everything okay? Is there any reason for you to call me?_ ”

“I called by mistake” Felicity explained when she finally found her voice. She wasn’t actually lying.

“ _Are you sure?_ " Oliver asked, noticing by her voice she wasn't being herself. They weren't in the best of terms but he could still notice.

“I am” she replied quickly. “It wasn’t my intention to call you, really. I was checking my contact list and I dialed your number by mistake…” Before the business student could say anything, she continued. “I know, I know. It totally sounded like a pretty bad excuse I’m just making up, but I’m serious. That’s what happened”.

“ _Okay, I get it_ " Oliver decided he shouldn't keep pressing her. They had never had a normal conversation on the phone (nor any kind of conversation for that matter), especially after their disagreement, but she sounded different. She didn't seem mad… She seemed sad. " _Are you okay?_ ”

“Yeah, yeah! I am! Why wouldn’t I?” she said, trying her best to convince him. The silence she earned told her she wasn’t successful. “No… I’m not…” When she heard Oliver was about to say something else, she stopped him. “Please, don’t ask me what happened… I don’t want to talk about it”.

“ _Uh…_ " He did want to know what happened. He wanted to help her. But, if it was what she wanted, he would comply. " _Okay, I won’t_ ”.

"Thank you" Felicity sighed, relieved.

The two of them remained silent for a few seconds. None of them was really sure how to continue. Felicity didn't know what came to her, but she opened her mouth.

“Can I ask you a favor?” she asked nervously. On the other hand, Oliver wasn’t sure he had heard correctly. He never expected her to ask him anything.

“ _You can ask me anything you want_ ” he answered sincerely.

“Can you pick me up?” After the embarrassment and humiliation she had been feeling since she had left the restaurant, Felicity was doing her best not to cry on the phone. That didn’t go unnoticed by Oliver.

“ _Just tell where you are and I’ll be there quickly_ ," he said as soon as he processed her request.

"Thank you… I'll send you my location in a second" she said before hanging up. She sent him the address and went to sit down by the wall close to her.

It didn't take Oliver more than ten minutes to get there. Felicity noticed his car stopping in front of her and turning its lights off. She didn't say anything when he got out of the vehicle and went to sit next to her.

"Hey," he said.

"Thanks for coming" Felicity replied. There was a part of her surprised he had actually shown up (she thought he may have made her wait forever). Although there was another part of her that didn't seem surprised at all.

"No problem" he replied. He had the suspicions she was feeling really bad the moment she answered her phone but seeing her like that confirmed it. He moved a lock of hair she had right in her face before asking: "Do you want me to take you home?"

"No, Iris is having dinner with Tommy," she said. "When I left home, I told her I would be home late so going back there isn't an option…"

"So… Is there any place you can go?" he waited for her answer but she shook her head slowly. "I'll take you to my apartment then. Tommy is not there so you can get comfortable…" he noticed the implications of his own words and tried his best to clarify what he'd just said. "I mean, nothing weird is going to happen, don't worry! But… If it's okay with you, we can go there… or to any other place you want…"

“Okay” she simply said.

Oliver helped her stand up and they got in the car. Their trip home was silent, both of them occupied by their thoughts: Felicity looking outside the window and Oliver wondering what to say.

***

They finally got inside the apartment, still, silent Felicity was started to think about how she had got there in the first place but, after a few seconds, she decided to let it go.

The blonde entered the living room and stood there, not knowing what to do while Oliver went to his room. A minute later, he came back with a blue t-shirt and a pair of shorts.

"Here," he said. When Felicity looked at him, a question on her lips, Oliver explained himself. "I've imagined that you would like to get comfortable so I got some old clothes for you. There are no second intentions, I swear…" The girl didn't reply, she just nodded and gave an attempted smile. "You already know where the bathroom is, right?"

Felicity nodded again and walked to the bathroom. As usual, the room was really tidy (no one outside their group of friends would think it belonged to Oliver and Tommy). She took her dress off and folded it as much as she could, to keep it in her purse.

Oliver's t-shirt was old and too big for her. It covered her almost completely so she didn't have to worry about showing more than she wanted to. Besides, she added the pair of shorts, so she wouldn't have any problem. Felicity looked at herself in the mirror and started to rewind the whole evening.

The situation with Cooper made her feel like an idiot. It shouldn't really matter, as they weren't actually together, but it still hurt her a little bit. She also had to deal with what was going to happen with Oliver. Her heart was feeling things that her mind wasn't able to explain and it scared her.

Felicity shook her head, wishing to leave all those thoughts aside, and washed her face. She couldn't help but notice the scent that came from the t-shirt she was wearing. For some reason, it made her feel good and nervous at the same time. She decided it was better to get out of the bathroom before starting to reflect on why she was feeling those things.

When the girl left the bathroom, Oliver was in the kitchen, making tea... The moment he felt her presence, the business student approached her with a cup in his hand.

"I guess you didn't have a good evening, so I thought you would like some tea… It might relax you a little bit" Oliver said. The girl took the cup and thanked him in a soft voice. "There's no need for you to drink it if you don't want to… Raisa, you know, the woman who used to take care of me when I was young, used to prepare me a cup of tea whenever I was having a bad day" He started to explain. "It may sound stupid, but it used to make me feel better somehow…"

Felicity took a sip of her beverage tasting the drink, then she looked at him expectantly.

"What kind of tea is this one?" she started to say. "Its taste different than any other tea I've ever had! It's not like I drink a lot of tea but if I compare it to any of the ones I've drunk, it's totally different. I mean, not in a bad way! I mean in an amazing way because this one tastes really good and… Well, just that" The moment Felicity realized she was babbling, she took another sip of the tea.

After smiling at her sudden recovery of words, he just looked away for a second.

"Sorry, if I shared some of the secret ingredients, Raisa would kill me for sure," he said. "She told me I could only share it with some specific people.

You know, you can sit on the couch if you want to" Oliver said when he saw her about to take one of the stool in the kitchen. "I mean, I think you'll be more comfortable there, right?"

"Thanks," she said while leaving the stool aside. "I mean, both for the tea and the offer…". She felt the need to continue. "And sorry…" When Oliver raised his eyebrow,  confused by her words, she explained. "You know, sorry to ruin your night".

"You haven't ruined anything, don't worry," Oliver said. "I was just watching some TV and trying my best to catch up with my notes". This time, it was Felicity who raised her eyebrow in confusion. "I know, I know. It sounded like a lame excuse but I'm not lying. I was actually doing that".

The girl just smiled a little. Somehow she believed his words. After that, the two of them didn't know what to say so the apartment fell silent  Oliver had many things he wanted to say so, after clearing his mind a bit, he joined Felicity at the opposite side of the couch.

“Felicity” he started to say. “Look, I’m not going to make you tell me what happened to you, but I just wanted you to know that, if you need to talk to someone or if you just need anything at all… You can count on me” Felicity just looked at him not knowing what to say. “I just wanted you to know that”.

The girl didn't say anything. She just got closer to him and hugged him, hiding her face on his shoulder. Oliver wrapped his arms around her and hold her close to him. A few seconds later, he felt his shoulder wet from the tears coming out of Felicity's eyes.

Felicity had tried her best to be strong and not cry because she knew it wasn't worth it. However, that didn't stop her from feeling impotent. She had too many emotions inside, all she could do to ease them was crying... Hell if she was doing it while hugging one of the people she thought she hated. No matter how ironic the situation may have seemed to her, somehow Felicity felt safe.

The two of them remained in that position for a while, none of them opening their mouths. The only movement in the room was the one coming from Oliver's hand stroking her hair.

When they separated, Oliver softly wiped her tears with his fingertips.

"You were right" She started to say with a broken voice. "All of you were right".

“About what?” Oliver asked, a bit confused.

"About my ex being an idiot" the girl replied while trying not to let more tears stream down her face.

"Are you crying for him?" Oliver asked worriedly. "Did he do something to you?".

“I’m not exactly crying _for_ _him_ " she tried to explain. "I'm crying because I'm also an idiot. At least, that's how I feel right now". She took a second to take a deep breath and prepare herself for what she was going to say. "This evening, I had a date with Cooper. At first, when he suggested it, I was opposed to the idea. Somehow he was able to convince me otherwise and I ended up accepting. I mean, he said he wanted to fix what we used to have and, at that moment, I thought it was a good idea".

Oliver didn't say anything. He kept his mouth shut, trying to process what she was saying. The more he listened, the angrier he started to get.

“When Iris found out, she told me it was a bad idea, and I knew she was right”. Felicity paused again in order to get more strength. “I knew it, but I decided to go to that date, or whatever that was”.

"I guess it was a bad idea," Oliver said trying his best to seem calm.

"Trust me, I know that," she said. "The thing is, we ended up going to a restaurant and he kept telling me how much I mean to him and how much he hated the ways we ended our previous relationship. For a moment, I don't know why but I believed him".

The boy could only watch as her expression kept becoming sadder.

“At some point, I got a call from one of the girls I tutor and who was asking for my help. So I said goodbye to Cooper and left the restaurant” Felicity continued. “Right when I was outside the building, the very same girl called me again to tell that she didn’t need my help anymore”.

“So I guess you went inside, right?” Oliver asked.

"I did and I saw him eating with another girl," she said. Oliver started to get furious. "Not even ten minutes since I left and he was already with another girl. How could I be such an idiot? How could I believed all the lies he told me?"

"It's not your fault," Oliver said, getting closer to her. He was really trying his best to hide his anger.

“It is!” Felicity replied. “It is because I was the one who decided to trust him again. I took a second to think and then I approach them. Cooper tried to make up some excuses but the only thing he got was making the girl mad and leave. After that… Well, I started to call everyone but it seemed like everyone was already busy so… Well, you know the rest of the story”.

“Yeah… You called me by mistake, right?” he said. “I’m glad you did”.

“You know what?” she started to say. “Me too”.

Oliver smiled at her words. Then he took one of her hands.

"I swear, if I ever meet that idiot, I'm going to kick his ass," Oliver said looking at her eyes. Felicity could see the fury in his own.

"It's not worth it, trust me," she said. "The only thing I keep asking myself is how stupid I can be. I mean… How can I let people like him hurt me this way?"

"Hey," Oliver said while getting close to her again. He let go of her hand to stroke her cheek. "You are not the idiot, let me tell you that. He's the idiot one. And he is because he hasn't been able to appreciate how amazing you are".

Felicity couldn’t help but blush at his words. She couldn’t look at him in the eyes, so she closed hers and sighed softly.

“You know” the girl started to say. “You are making it really hard for me to dislike you right now”. After saying that, something inside her changed. She opened her eyes and she didn’t look away.

“Maybe I don’t want you to dislike me” was the only thing he could say while reducing the distance between them.

Felicity let go of his grip. Not to separate herself of him but to do the opposite. She used her hand to guide herself and touch his lips with hers. Their kiss was slow. Oliver grabbed her by her waist and pulled her towards him. Their tongues were about to meet when Oliver opened his eyes and ended the kiss.

"We should stop it right here," Oliver said, putting some distance between them. "It wouldn't be fair to you if I took advantage of you in a moment of weakness". As much as he wanted to kiss her, they shouldn't do things she might regret later.

“It’s not like that” Felicity said, using her hand to tilt his chin up. “Right now, the only thing I need is you”.

After her words, Oliver started to kiss her softly. The way he was kissing her was so delicate it looked like she was a flower whose petals were about to fall. Felicity wrapped her arms around his neck and her tongue met his, making her moan.

They separated once more.

"I don't want you to do something you don't want to," Oliver said, his forehead meeting hers. , his fingers caressing her cheeks.

“I’ve never done anything I didn’t want to” she replied,  gripping his shirt and kissing him again.

Oliver made them stand up without ending the kiss. Once they were standing, Oliver looked at her, and silently brought Felicity to his room. Oliver put her on his bed slowly and looked in her eyes again. There was no need for words so he kissed her one more time. However, that kiss was different than the ones they had shared before. There was no hate or anger in that kiss. It was sweet and tender. And, even if it was too soon for either of them to accept it, that kiss was full of love.

While kissing, Felicity put one hand under his shirt, caressing his back slowly, while using the other one to take it off. Oliver, noticing her intentions, helped her and threw the shirt away.

Soon after that, Oliver's mouth found her neck and kissed the area until he reached her ear. When he bit her earlobe, Felicity raised her hip, shivering.

Oliver did the same thing she had done a few seconds ago and put one of his hand under the t-shirt he had lent her. He then caressed her flat abdomen and led his hands to the lower part of her body.

The moment he reached the shorts,  he stopped for a second to catch some air.

“Felicity Smoak… You are the most incredible, gorgeous, intelligent and sexiest woman I have ever met in my life” he said. Then he kissed her forehead. “I would lie if I tell I don’t want this to happen, but…” he looked at her blue eyes again. “I think we should talk first, maybe not tonight, but we should do so…”

“Oliver…” Felicity whispered, not breaking eye contact. “I don’t care about anything right now. The only thing I know right now is that I need you.”

“The thing is… Are you still going to need me when you stop feeling this down?” he asked with a worried tone in his voice.

Felicity didn’t say anything.

“It’s just…” he continued. “I just don’t want this to be one of our moments of desire…”

"I'm sorry," she said, looking anywhere but him, which was hard as he was just a few inches away from her.

"There's nothing to apologize" he added. "It's just… It doesn't have to mean anything if you don't want to but…" he paused for a second. He was finally going to use the words that had been in his mind since the first time they had been as close as they were at that moment. "But… If it happens, I would like it to mean something… I don't really want this to be something we regret later…"

That was the very first time Oliver felt vulnerable in his life. It hadn’t been easy, but he had to express all the things he had been thinking. He didn’t want her to look back at that time and regret it. He didn’t want her to wake up the next morning and feel bad about it. He wanted to stop playing that stupid game between them.

"I'm scared," she said after what Oliver had felt like an eternity. He moved aside and lied down beside her. "I'm scared to the implications of…" she took a deep breath. "Well, of this… I'm scared that this might mean much more than what I expect. I'm scared to make the same mistakes I've done until this moment".

Felicity turned to Oliver, burying her stare into his own.

"I have already dealt with many hurtful emotions to bet on something that might hurt me again," she said sincerely.

"To tell you the truth," the business student said "I'm scared too. I have never felt this need before in my entire life, it's a first, so, yeah… I'm scared too. But there's something here,  I feel something deep down inside me, something special, and I don't want to ignore it this time".

“I don’t really know what’s going on… I don’t really know how I feel...” she said. “The only thing I know is that, no matter how hard I tried to oppress it, I can’t fully stop thinking about it. I can’t stop thinking about you… I can’t, and that confuses me a lot…”

“Felicity…” Oliver said. “I know we haven’t really started in the best terms and I know there are many things that will make you doubt what I’m about to say but… I want to prove them to you…” Felicity had an expression in her face that made it difficult for Oliver to read but he knew he had her attention. He put a lock of her hair behind her ear and continued. “I am not the person you think I am…”

“Then show me”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SO... what do you think? 
> 
> I hate to say this but I don't know when I'll be able to post chapter 5, because of time and stuff, hope you understand. I promise to post it as soon as I can.
> 
> Don't forget to let me know what you think about the chapter. I really hope you liked it!


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